


find a home, lonely heart

by tigerlo



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Case Fic, F/F, Found Family, Hints of a soulmate au, Slow Burn, Wild-west au, era-appropriate homophobia, mild depictions of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 03:59:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 265,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14968634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigerlo/pseuds/tigerlo
Summary: Nicole has never been one to put down roots.  She's moved from town to town, finding work with the local lawmen, and when she rides into Purgatory to fill the open deputy posting, she's not expecting things to be any different this time around.But fate has other ideas.She's immediately and inexplicably drawn to Waverly Earp, in a way that she can't explain.  She falls into the same orbit as the others that Waverly holds dear, and before long, Nicole finds herself dreaming of a future and a home.But there's darkness afoot in Purgatory, and anyone on the street might be more than they seem when fear grips the town in the wake of a string of disappearances.Will Nicole be able to stop the evil from spreading in time, or will her tenuous connection with those she's coming to see as family be severed before it even really has a chance to form?





	1. one.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheGaySmurf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGaySmurf/gifts).



> It's finally here.... 
> 
> I have a million thank you's to make but I think I'll save them for the end because there's one thank you that's more important than any of the others. @iamthegaysmurf, you have been the most incredible friend during this ridiculous wild ride, thank you from the bottom of my little heart. Gifting this fic to you hardly seems enough but hopefully you already know how much all your help means <3
> 
> I'm going to set a weekly posting schedule for this so I can manage it around all my real-life commitments and so you guys have enough time to read your weekly dose of the Mix-Tape series by Smurf and Piratekane on a Friday before getting this on a Monday. You should be reading that if you're not already! I might double up on a chapter in some weeks but I can't promise it so look out for updates on a Monday or subscribe so you don't miss anything. 
> 
> There are so many other things I want to say but I know you all really just want to get into this adventure so I won't hold you up any longer. Get stuck in, and come see me on [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) later if you want to let me know what you thought of part one! 
> 
> xx

-

  
  


The sun is high and her thighs are weakened by the long ride when Nicole finally drops boots on Purgatory dirt. 

 

_ It’s small, _ is the first thing she thinks,  _ and it’s hot. _

 

It’s damn hot. 

 

She takes her wide-brimmed hat from her head, wiping the sweat from her brow on her tanned forearm, before she replaces it and takes a look across the street surrounding her. 

 

_ It’s quaint, _ Nicole thinks. Small, but not so small that they don’t need another lawman, hence Nicole’s uplift from the last town. 

 

She bites her lip as she squints from one side of the Main Street to the other, a few curious eyes following her as she leads her horse over to a stall to tether her while she takes a look around. 

 

“You must be new in town,” a young woman says as she walks to greet Nicole. She’s pretty; dark hair and a confident walk. “I’m the Sheriff's daughter. Well, the new Sheriff.”

 

There’s something slightly regretful in the way she says  _ new Sheriff _ that settles uneasily against Nicole’s skin, but she doesn’t push and ask. 

 

There’ll be time for that later. 

 

“Nicole Haught, ma’am,” Nicole says as she removes her hat and inclines her head. “I’ll be the new Deputy Sheriff, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

 

“You’re the new Deputy?” the young woman asks, surprised. “Well, I’ll be.”

 

“I know some folks might have a problem with it, but I promise you I’m just as capable of having your Daddy’s back as any man,” Nicole says seriously, bracing herself to deliver her defence, but to her surprise, she doesn’t need it.

 

“I don’t doubt it,” the girl says with a kind smile on her face. “You strike me as very capable, Miss Haught, but even if you weren’t, you’ll still be a damn improvement on the law in this town that isn’t my father.”

 

“Why, thank you, Miss….” Nicole trails off, waiting for her new acquaintance to fill the space with her name. 

 

“Nedley,” the young woman finishes as she reaches out her hand for Nicole to shake. “Chrissy Nedley.”

 

“So, your father must be….”

 

“Randy Nedley,” Chrissy replies as she nods. “That’s him. I can take you to meet him now, if you’d like?”

 

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to bother him just now,” Nicole says as she looks up to the sun. “It must be about noon. I’m sure he’s off stealin’ a bit of quiet in the shade somewhere.”

 

“Asleep, more like,” Chrissy replies with an eye-roll. “He won’t mind, though. Truth be told, I think he’s been a bit excited since he got the post with your acceptance in it.”

 

“I confess the same myself,” Nicole says with a smile as she ducks her head, and Chrissy smiles at the genuineness in her gesture. “I mean, I’ve heard good things about your father. I’m lookin’ forward to working with someone like him. A decent man.”

 

“He seems like a stubborn asshole at first, but he’ll soften up,” Chrissy offers with a wink. “I promise. Now, you want me to show you around, or….”

 

“I’ll introduce myself to your old man soon, and I need to find a place to stay, but I’m wonderin’ if you might be able to point me in the direction of your watering hole?” Nicole asks as her thirst takes prime place in her head. “I’m so damn parched.”

 

“Oh, of course you are,” Chrissy answers, admonishing herself. “Good Lord, what was I thinkin’. Now, the Saloon Bar is where the locals go, but if you’re wanting something a little more….refined….the young lady who runs the local apothecary serves drinks for those wanting an atmosphere with a little less swearin’ and fighting, if you need a break from that during your day.”

 

“How’d a young lady find herself running a little business here?” Nicole inquires politely as they begin to walk across the street. “Is it a family business, or….”

 

“Not exactly,” Chrissy says with a frown. “The store was in the family, but….listen, Miss Haught, there are a few things you’ll fast learn around this town, and truth is, I’d rather you hear them from someone who’s not taken by drink or hate.”

 

“Such as?” Nicole asks curiously as she falls into an easy step with young Miss Nedley. 

 

“Well, there are families that run towns like this, right?” Chrissy says carefully. “Your old town like that?”

 

“Yeah,” Nicole replies cynically. “Just like that.”

 

“Well, this one's no different, although there’s been a bit of a shift over who’s in charge here in the last few years,” Chrissy says, and Nicole can tell how delicately she’s choosing her words. “Our old Sheriff, he was a drunk and a bastard, but people respected him for the most part. His family’s been here for decades, by the name of Earp.”

 

“Earp?” Nicole asks, tasting the flavour of the word on her tongue. 

 

“Earp,” Chrissy confirms before she continues. “Now, Ward was a piece of work, but he and his wife had three little girls. Their mother left shortly after the youngest - she’s my age - was born, leaving him to raise the three of them. He didn’t do much raisin’, left that up to the oldest sister, and they did okay until a few years ago.”

 

“When he….” Nicole asks delicately. 

 

“Yeah,” Chrissy says a little solemnly. “When he died. Now, I don’t know if Daddy wrote to you and told you what happened when you offered to take the job, and I can guarantee you’ll hear thirty different histories of the Earps before the day is done, but Daddy’s version is what really happened.”

 

“He told me that there was an accident,” Nicole says carefully as they near a store with a window lined with sparkling glass bottles. “That the local gang came for him in the middle of the night, and their sister was killed, along with the Sheriff.”

 

“Did he tell you about the middle sister?” Chrissy asks with a sad frown on her brow. 

 

“That she picked up the Sheriff’s gun to protect the smallest one, and….” Nicole answers slowly, hoping Chrissy will finish the line so she doesn’t have to. 

 

“Shot her father by accident,” Chrissy says gently. “Yeah, that’s it. Her oldest sister was killed in the skirmish, too, poor thing. Thank god Daddy arrived with back up, he was the Deputy then you see, before anything else happened or anyone else got hurt, but the damage was done by then.”

 

“What happened to them?” Nicole asks, her voice keen. “The two girls?” 

 

“Wynonna,” Chrissy says with a regret-heavy sigh. “She’s the oldest now. She hasn’t had it easy since. A few people wanted to have her locked up for what happened with her daddy, but I think that’s manure, if you’ll excuse the expression. She was a child when it happened, and the way Daddy tells it, they would have made away with the youngest if Wynonna hadn’t stepped in.”

 

“They didn’t, though?” Nicole questions, taking her hat off to survey the rows of bottles as she listens to Chrissy beginning to round her story off. 

 

“They didn’t,” Chrissy says with a smile. “They backed the hell off when they saw kid Wynonna staring them down the barrel of Ward’s gun.”

 

“What happened to her?” Nicole asks, interested. “If they didn’t throw her in jail?”

 

“She had to grow up with the stigma of killin’ her own father, trying to help raise her kid sister when she was barely older than a kid herself. They went to live with a friend of the family’s for a while, until Wynonna grew up enough to shift them back home.”

 

“Jeez,” Nicole appraises as she processes the story in her head. “What do you make of her... Wynonna, did you say it was?”

 

“The town hates her,” Chrissy answers with a frown before her face changes and she looks to Nicole with a smile. “But I think she’s a hero. She’s got more than a few demons herself, but her sister’s a gem, the whole town loves her, surname or no, and that ain’t due to no one but Wynonna herself.”

 

“What’s she like?” Nicole asks as she looks over the top of the bottles and catches a flash; a passing glance of a gaze that stops her heart for a second. 

 

Of the most beautiful girl she’s ever seen in her whole damn life. 

 

“The younger sister?” Chrissy replies with a grin, not missing the way Nicole watches the young woman on the other side of the glass window with a slightly starry expression. “You’re about to meet her. Go find that out for yourself.”

  
  


-

  
  


“Waverly Earp, I have the pleasure of introducin’ Daddy’s new deputy,” Chrissy says by way of a greeting as she drags a slightly shellshocked Nicole into the shop behind her. 

 

It’s beautiful, the small narrow shop. Immaculately clean with rows and rows of bottles containing liquids and herbs Nicole only recognises the names for half of. 

 

It’s white, but not clinically so; it’s warm, welcoming, and it smells like a scent Nicole will eventually come to associate with home. 

 

One end of the long room has what looks like Waverly’s medicinal offerings, with herbs of various assortments hanging from the ceiling, while the other appears home to a small bar, one or two people currently sitting, nursing something that looks liquid and delicious and  _ cold _ .  

 

“Hi,” Waverly says kindly, wiping her hands on her apron before she turns to Nicole with a smile that puts the sun to shame. “Waverly Earp. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Deputy….”

 

She’s wearing a soft white dress with a laced corset over the top, sensible but not demure looking, and to Nicole’s eyes, an absolute vision. Her arms are bare, and her skin is deeply tanned, and her hair is pulled into a loose tie on the top of her head, several runaway strands falling around her eyes. 

 

She holds her hand out for Nicole to take, just like Chrissy had only a few moments ago, but there’s something so significantly different about this gesture to the one before, even if Nicole can’t put her thumb on it now. 

 

Or later this afternoon. 

 

Or this evening. 

 

Or the several that follow. 

 

Nicole does a double take, pausing with her hand halfway to Waverly’s, a blank look passing over her face, but it’s not out of place, because Waverly does, too. 

 

And it’s not in a way where she’s pausing, watching Nicole, too. When she looks at Nicole, properly  _ looks _ at her, she’s just as lost in the sight of Nicole as Nicole is of her. 

 

“Haught,” Nicole breathes as Waverly’s hand closes the distance and slides into her own, warm and perfect. “Nicole Haught.”

 

“Nicole,” Waverly answers a little vaguely, like she’s trying to recall a memory to go with Nicole’s name, and the feeling of her hand in Waverly’s own. 

 

A memory or a dream or a premonition, even. 

 

“That’s a beautiful name,” Waverly says a little distractedly, like she’s trying desperately to reconcile whatever she’s currently feeling with some type of reason. “I feel as though I’ve heard it before. Have you ever come to town previously?”

 

“No ma’am,” Nicole says with a blush as Waverly’s hand holds against her own. 

 

“Are you sure?” Waverly asks again, her face lined in a frown as she concentrates. “I feel like….no, that’s ridiculous. You’d remember if you’d been to Purgatory before, of course you would. I must be going mad.”

 

“You feel like what?” Nicole questions curiously as her thumb strokes over Waverly’s palm softly. So subtly Waverly could forgive it as a twitch if she wanted to. 

 

“No, it’s silly,” Waverly says as she shakes her head, dismissing the idea. 

 

“I don’t think anythin’ you say is going to be silly,” Nicole replies, smooth without meaning to be, but the compliment is enough to get Waverly to look at Nicole again clearly. 

 

“It’s only….” Waverly says shyly, pausing as she tries to align her words. “I feel like we’ve met before. I feel like I know you.”

 

Nicole’s heart skips, and then swoops, and then rises as Waverly looks at her, because they haven’t met before, she knows they haven’t, because she would  _ remember _ someone like Waverly Earp, but that doesn’t stop the feeling that while they haven’t met before, she still feels like she  _ knows _ Waverly, too. 

 

She feels familiar. 

 

And she smells like  _ home _ . 

 

“Maybe you dreamed of her,” Chrissy offers with a smirk as she looks between the two of them. “I’ve heard of things like that happening before. I mean, you’ve got a hell of an inventory here, Waverly. It must affect you, bein’ around this stuff all day?”

 

“I must have,” Waverly says a little airily still, her eyes moving over Nicole’s face like she’s trying to jog a memory. 

 

Finally, her eyes fall back to Nicole’s, and at the sight of Nicole’s slightly smitten smile, Waverly  _ beams _ . 

 

Which, of course, is the perfect time for a cocky, entitlement-driven distraction to walk through the door in front of them.

 

“Afternoon, darlin’,” a young man with a too-white smile and a too-shiny gun on his hip says to Waverly as he completely ignores both Nicole and Chrissy to lean against the high countertop. 

 

Waverly gives Nicole’s hand one last brief squeeze before she drops it gently to address their Johnny-come-lately. 

 

She’s not sure what pisses her off more: his arrogant swagger, the way he says darlin’, the fact that he made Waverly drop her hand, or the idea that sun-perfect Waverly Earp might be otherwise spoken for. 

 

By  _ this _ asshole. 

 

Her heart climbs up into the base of her throat and her hands tighten around the leather of her belt as she waits for Waverly to return the endearment, or not. 

 

“Hi, Champ,” Waverly answers politely, but neutrally, as she looks down to busy herself with something behind the counter, an action she hadn’t bothered with for Nicole and Chrissy. 

 

“Oh, that’s cold,” Champ replies as he smirks heavily. “You don’t got anything warmer for your future husband?”

 

Nicole’s heart drops, through the floor and into a shallow grave, before Waverly scowls heavily and turns to look at Champ. 

 

“Champ,” Waverly says, sighing like she’s more than fed up, which makes Nicole’s heart ease a little, before Chrissy snorts and talks over them both. 

 

“I didn’t know you’d resorted to kidnapping in order to get a girl to marry you, Champ,” Chrissy offers sarcastically, and he throws her a dark look as Waverly laughs softly. 

 

“I’ll wear you down for second date one of these days,” he says, winking at Waverly before he leans back like he thinks the job is done.

 

“Yeah, ‘cause wearin’ a girl down is  _ such _ a nice way to start a relationship,” Nicole sighs with an eye-roll, catching Waverly’s smile at her defense. 

 

“Who the hell are you?” Champ asks roughly as he turns to Nicole, taking stock of her for the first time. He gives her the once-over, frowning slightly when he absorbs the gun at her hip and her decidedly non-feminine clothing. 

 

“That’s your new Deputy Sheriff, Champ Hardy,” Waverly says sternly at his tone of disrespect. “Mind your damn manners.”

 

“Nedley hired a lady deputy?” Champ asks incredulously. “God, he must be desperate. I guess that’s what happens when the old one was-”

 

“I bet she could kick your ass with her hands tied behind her back,” Chrissy cuts over him firmly, closing off whatever insult he was about to send the way of Waverly’s father. “You’d do better to offer her more respect, Champ Hardy.”

 

“Whatever,” Champ says dismissively. “When she’s got a badge, I’ll listen. Until then…”

 

“What do you want, Champ?” Waverly questions, her growing impatience becoming clearer and clearer. 

 

“I want a second date,” he repeats, completely oblivious to Waverly’s clear discomfort. “I managed to get you on a first, even if you didn’t…”

 

“Hey,” Nicole says crossly. “If you’re about to say what I think you are, keep your damn thoughts to yourself.”

 

He narrows his eyes at Nicole then, turning to properly appraise her. His gaze moves slowly up and down the length of Nicole’s body, taking in her clothes - well made, but not representative of what women wear in this time at all - her height, the bend and confidence of her own frame, before something flashes across his eyes. 

 

_ Understanding, _ she thinks with a cold jolt.  _ He can tell I’m interested. _

 

“I don’t think it’s your  _ place _ to comment on what Miss Earp and I did or didn’t do,” Champ says with a cocky smirk as he straightens up to his full height, taking a step towards Nicole. 

 

“It is when the only thing that happened on a date that I only agreed on in order to get you to leave me alone was that you forced a kiss on me when you walked me home,” Waverly replies in a smooth, forced calm, her jaw clenched with her frustration.

 

And Nicole wants to hit him right here, in Waverly’s beautiful little store, this instant, for his disgustingly disrespectful tone, but she doesn’t, because she knows it isn’t what Waverly would want. It would only reduce her to as much of a thug as he is an asshole, and that is not the first impression she wants to leave Waverly with. 

 

“There you have it,” Chrissy says finally as she glares at Champ. “Now move on, would you? We were having a lovely time without you.”

 

“Guess I’ll just come back tomorrow, then,” Champ replies with a cold smile. “You’ll say yes one of these days.”

 

“Don’t hold your breath,” Waverly answers with a heavy sigh. 

 

He pushes away from the countertop before he stands back to look at the three women. 

 

“Ma’am,” he says as he tips his hat to Waverly and Chrissy. He doesn’t extend the farewell to Nicole, opting to throw her a sickly demeaning smile instead before he turns with a flourish and leaves. 

 

“God makes ‘em all, doesn’t he?” Chrissy offers with a heavy sigh once he’s finally gone. “That boy is  _ exhausting _ .”

 

“Absolutely exhausting,” Waverly says as she breathes deeply, almost appearing to savour the air, fresher for his absence. 

 

“Does he do that every day?” Nicole asks, a little disbelieving as she watches the weight lift off Waverly’s shoulders. 

 

“Every day,” Waverly replies, sounding beyond tired at Champ’s perseverance. 

 

“And you’re not…” Nicole tries to ask politely, wanting to confirm what she thinks she knows based on that little peacock display: that Waverly’s not involved with him. That there isn’t an interest there that might otherwise make her unavailable for…

 

For what, Nicole isn’t sure, because she knows  _ who _ she is, she knows  _ what _ she likes, but she knows  _ that _ is so far from being openly accepted, especially in a small town like Purgatory.

 

And even if Waverly is available, so to speak, there’s absolutely no guarantee that she would even entertain being courted by a woman, although there’s something in the softness of her gaze, and the way that she almost looks at Nicole like maybe this is what she’s been waiting for her whole life, she just didn’t know it, that gives Nicole  _ hope _ . 

 

“Interested?” Waverly asks cynically as she raises an eyebrow to Nicole. “Not at all. Never have been. I really only said yes because he said he’d leave me alone if I did. Which he hasn’t.”

 

“I can probably do something about that, if you like,” Nicole offers, and there’s kind of a double depth or interpretation as to  _ how _ she can do that. 

 

Because she can tell him to back off, rough him up a bit and tell him to stay the hell away because Waverly isn’t interested, or she can give him a different reason to back the hell off. 

 

She can tell him to stand down because Waverly is spoken for. 

 

By her. 

 

“Really?” Waverly asks hopefully as her eyes light up. “I mean, I’d love that. He drives half of my afternoon customers away every day, and he drives  _ me _ sideways, but…you don’t have to. I mean, you’re new to town. Aren’t you supposed to figure out if I’m worth the trouble?”

 

“Even if he wasn’t a general menace, I already know you’d be worth the trouble,” Nicole says smoothly, sending Waverly her brightest grin so Waverly isn’t left with a scrap of doubt as to what Nicole means. 

 

She can vaguely see Chrissy out of the corner of her eye, smiling kindly at their interaction with a slightly knowing expression on her face, and Nicole almost can’t believe her luck at having a potential ally and friend so easily in a town as small as this. 

 

“You’re very sweet, Officer Haught,” Waverly replies around a soft blush. “If you managed to give me even a few days’ reprieve, I’d be mighty thankful. More cold drink than you could stomach, any time of the day. Speaking of which, god, you must be thirsty as anything.”

 

Nicole can see her shaking her head at her own thoughtlessness, not that Nicole thinks that it is for a second, before she floats down to the bar end, reappearing a few seconds later with two chilled bottles that make Nicole salivate at the sight. 

 

“On the house,” Waverly says, grinning broadly as she slides the glass bottle in front of Nicole. 

 

“Oh, I couldn’t,” Nicole replies as she shakes her head and reaches into her pocket for something to pay Waverly with, trying not to glare too hungrily at the cool drink. 

 

“I insist. It’s the least I can do,” Waverly says quietly as Chrissy moves away a few steps to give them a moment to themselves. “I know you don’t know yet, or maybe you do, but we don’t have a hell of a lot of people jumping the gun to stand up for us, my sister and I. It’s…”

 

She trails off softly before she bites her lip, adorably, worrying a few strands of her hair with both hands before she stops fussing. She lays both hands palm down on the bar before she looks up to Nicole with an expression that makes Nicole’s chest  _ ache _ . 

 

“Truth be told, I don’t know what it is,” Waverly says with a sense of melancholy that Nicole senses - almost knows for a certainty, such is the weight of its grip around Waverly’s neck - has been there her whole life. 

 

She looks to Nicole again, clearly, easily, before she smiles at her and Nicole feels the weight  _ shift _ . 

 

“It’s been so long since it happened, I can’t remember what it’s like.”

  
  


-

  
  


“So that’s Waverly Earp, huh?” Nicole asks with a heavily distracted note to her voice as she and Chrissy leave Waverly’s shop. 

 

“That’s Waverly Earp.” Chrissy nods in confirmation. 

 

“She’s…” Nicole tries to start, but she has absolutely no idea how she’s going to finish. 

 

Because she’s only known Waverly Earp for a little over an hour now, but she feels like her life has changed swiftly on its axis, creating a line in the dirt. 

 

Years before meeting Waverly Earp, and years after. 

 

She doesn’t know Waverly, not yet, not beyond the fact that her smile looks like it could bring someone back from the dead, and her hands smell like herbs and rain, and her eyes are kind, when she thinks you deserve them to be so. 

 

“She’s a special girl,” Chrissy says with a slightly knowing smile, completely lost on Nicole, who's still wrapped up in the thought of Waverly and her delicate, but purposeful hands. 

 

“She certainly seems so,” Nicole replies as she turns to take one last look at Waverly with her hands flat on the countertop. 

 

She’s not expecting Waverly to be watching her still, but she is, seemingly as intrigued by Nicole as Nicole is by her. 

 

Nicole raises her hand, giving Waverly a small, shy gesture of goodbye, which Waverly returns with an equally shy movement and a brilliantly controlled smile, like she was trying to keep the fact that she was happy contained, or a secret from others watching. 

 

“Not very many people give her a chance once they hear about her sister and her father,” Chrissy says sadly. “It says a lot about your character that you’re willing to, Miss Haught.”

 

“Lord, it’s not even her sister’s fault, let alone hers,” Nicole says as she shakes her head and attempts to comprehend how anyone in the whole entire world could not want to give Waverly Earp everything they could, let alone the decency of not blaming her for her sister’s, or father’s, sins. 

 

“You and I know that, but a lot of these small-minded folk don’t think the same as you and me,” Chrissy replies, sighing heavily. “It means a great deal, to think Waverly might have someone else in her corner. Lord knows she needs it.”

 

“It’s the least I can do,” Nicole says with a frown as she looks from Waverly’s shop around the Main Street. “People are really that simple thinking?”

 

“I’m afraid so, Deputy,” Chrissy answers regretfully. “Welcome to Purgatory, where the sins of your parents are your own.”

 

“Terrific,” Nicole says balefully. “Well, at least I can keep that Champ character from harassing the poor girl every day.”

 

“That might be a harder task than you’re anticipating,” Chrissy returns wryly. “He’s had his eye on that girl for years now.”

 

“Yeah, well, I’m not terribly fond of the way he looks at her,” Nicole says with a narrowed eye as she watches Champ disappear into what she assumes to be the main watering hole. “It’s….”

 

“Predatory?” Chrissy offers, finishing Nicole’s sentence. “Yeah, I know. Daddy does, too. I think that’s why he sends me on errands that take me past the shop most days.”

 

“I’m glad she’s got someone else lookin’ after her,” Nicole says as she turns and looks at Chrissy. “You’re a pleasant surprise, Miss Nedley. I’ll count my lucky stars later that I had the good fortune to bump into you first.”

 

“As are you, Deputy,” Chrissy returns, blushing a little. “I knew a woman prepared to take on a job like yours was bound to be different, but you’re alright by me, too.”

 

They walk a little way back to check on Nicole’s horse, a beautiful, deeply brown mare, nickering it’s pleasure in seeing Nicole come towards it. 

 

“Daddy should be about at the jail now, if you want me to take you to see him,” Chrissy says as she holds her hand out for the horse to sniff before she runs her hands down its neck. “And then I can take you to where he’s organised a room for you, and you can unpack and get yourself settled.”

 

“Only if you haven’t got somewhere else to be?” Nicole answers gratefully. “But I’m sure I’ll find my way if you do. This town ain’t so big that I won’t find it eventually, but I’d be thankful for the company.”

 

“I’ve got an engagement shortly, but I’ve got more than enough time to show you to him first,” Chrissy says with a smile, giving the horse one last stroke before she steps away. “And then perhaps I could show you to your accommodation on my way there?”

 

“Sounds sublime,” Nicole replies, returning Chrissy’s smile. “Now, before we meet him, tell me everything I need to know about your father.”

  
  


-

  
  


The walk to the jail doesn’t take them very long, it’s only at the opposite end of the Main Street, but Nicole is thankful for the opportunity to step out of the sun by the time they get there. 

 

Nedley is stern, but Nicole can sense a kind side to him, even as he leads her gruffly around the jail. It’s reasonably sized, which Nicole was expecting given the relative size of the town, and it’s well-kempt, which, if Nicole’s honest, she  _ wasn’t _ expecting. 

 

Nedley obviously takes pride in the place, and pride in his ranks, and Nicole’s heart lifts a little at the prospect of working for someone like this. 

 

He waves them both off, telling Nicole to familiarise herself with the town today, not to worry about coming back in, and that he’ll see her in the morning. 

 

She hears his voice travel quietly to one of the other men in the jail as they leave, and she’s pleasantly surprised not to hear a joke or jape, but genuine relief in his voice. 

 

“It true she managed to run that gang out of town in her last posting?” one of the men asks Nedley, his voice laced with disbelief. 

 

“Sure as I’m standing here in front of you,” Nedley says with a hint of pride, as though he was impressed with his own recruitment of her. “Old Sheriff couldn’t praise her highly enough. Damn near begged me not to take her so she’d stay with him, actually.”

 

“But, she’s a woman,” one of the others says, still unsure. 

 

“And what?” the first man replies. “I bet you a drink she’d knock your ass in the dirt before you could do as much as land a blow.”

 

“She’ll do,” is the last thing she hears from Nedley before they’re too far to hear him clearly. “Yep, she'll do.”

  
  


-

  
  


“Tell me more about Waverly’s sister,” Nicole says as they walk back from the jail. “Wynonna, you said her name was? What’s she like?”

 

“She’s a harder nut to crack than Waverly, that’s for sure,” Chrissy says a little cynically. “I don’t blame the girl, though, not after what she’s been through.”

 

“Is she…” Nicole trails off, not quite sure how to verbalise what she wants to ask.

 

Is she a danger, is she a risk, is she a wet stick of dynamite ready to blow?

 

“She’s a product of her history, Deputy,” Chrissy answers carefully. “She’s certainly no rosebud like Waverly is, but there’s good in her, I know there is. I’ve seen it in the way she acts around her sister. The lengths she goes to in order to make sure Waverly never wants for nothin’, that she hears as little of the poison this town spits about her family as possible.”

 

“Does she come into the town often?” Nicole asks, trying to gauge whether or not she’ll have the opportunity to meet her soon. 

 

“Often enough,” Chrissy says back. “You’re bound to meet her in a few days. She calls in to see Waverly most days.”

 

“They don’t live together?” Nicole questions, trying to put as much behind the portrait she’s building of Waverly in her mind. “She and her sister?”

 

“Sometimes,” Chrissy offers with a frown. “Wynonna lives on the homestead, where everything…happened. I don’t think Waverly is awful fond of the place, even with her sister there. The shop has a small room above it, but it’s more than enough for her. I think she prefers to stay there when she can? She spent a good part of her childhood with Gus and Curtis, when Wynonna was…away for a little while, too. Although, she does spend a great deal of time out there with Wynonna now. I think she just prefers not to stay…”

 

“I don’t blame her,” Nicole says with a sympathetic sigh as they round the entrance to the place Nicole appears to be lodging. 

 

“Trouble is,” Chrissy replies sadly, placing her hand on the rail of the stairs. “Most of this town does.”

  
  
  


-

  
  
  


“I know it’s nothin’ flashy, but hopefully it’ll be enough for you to make yourself comfortable in,” Chrissy says as she shows Nicole around her accommodation.

 

“It’s more than enough,” Nicole says thankfully, dropping the haversack containing her few belongings onto the decently sized bed. “I can’t remember the last time I saw a bed that wasn’t a cot. This is like heaven.” 

 

Her room, larger than some of the small shack-excuses for houses she’s lived in, is one of half a dozen that make up a modest Inn, which sits nestled among the Main Street shops. The Inn belongs to Gus and Curtis McCready, who, Nicole has come to learn, are the family friends that took Waverly and Wynonna in and cared for them both. Waverly, especially, when Wynonna left town after the accident with her family. 

 

The Inn opens from the street to a front desk, normally manned by Gus or Curtis themselves, that leads around to their private office, as well as the dining room, and, behind that, the kitchen. A stairwell on the bottom floor leads up to the second level, which is comprised entirely of private rooms, the entrance to Nicole’s at the end of a long hallway. It won’t be as easy to hide her comings and goings if she needs to leave during unusual hours, but it’s a damn sight better than sleeping under the stars in the cold.

 

“Daddy didn’t mention it, but he’s organised the charge of the lodging. You can talk to him about that tomorrow if you want to. He’s also arranged with Gus to make sure the room comes with a few meals a day. You’ll have to go down and fetch them, but the food’ll be hot, waiting there for you. You’re the only one with a key, too, other than Gus, for your own piece of mind,” Chrissy says as she walks around the room, making sure everything’s in order. 

 

“That’s very kind of him,” Nicole answers with a smile as she walks over to the window, looking out and down onto the Main Street. 

 

“I think he’s doing everything he can to keep you here, now that he’s got you,” Chrissy replies with a smile of her own. “Not an idiot, that man, no matter what some think of him.”

 

“Well, I appreciate the effort he’s gone through in order to organise this,” Nicole offers as she walks over to Chrissy to say farewell. “It’s a heck of a lot more than I was expectin’, if I’m honest. I was prepared to sleep rough for a few nights until I found somewhere with a roof over it. This is incredible.”

 

“I’m happy it’s to your liking,” Chrissy says fondly. “I’ll be sure to let Daddy know it wasn’t enough to scare you out of town. Nor your introduction to a few fellow citizens.”

 

“More than,” Nicole says. “And they’ll have to do better than Champ Hardy to send me packin’.”

 

“Pleased to hear it. I have to take my leave, unfortunately,” Chrissy says as she opens the small silver pocket watch at her waist. “But you’re okay here?” 

 

“More than,” Nicole replies again with a thankful nod of her head. “I’m sorry to have kept you.”

 

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all,” Chrissy insists, swatting the insinuation away. “Truly, it’s a pleasure, Deputy. You’ve got the directions to our house if you need anything? You can probably convince one of the young boys to run out there if somethin’ comes up, but don’t want to come all that way.”

 

“I’m sure I’ll be just fine,” Nicole says easily, walking Chrissy to the door. “Thank you again for your kindness and the history lesson, Miss Nedley. It means more than I can say.”

 

“Any time,” Chrissy answers with a wink. “Oh, and Miss Haught? If you find yourself needin’ company at all, you know Waverly Earp lives across the way, above her shop.”

 

“She does?” Nicole asks, suddenly even more appreciative of the location of the Inn. “I must have lost my bearings. I thought it was further down the way.”

 

“Nope,” Chrissy says with a smile. “I’m sure she’d be more than happy to admit you if you find yourself adrift at all. If you can see a candlelight across the way, that means she’s there. The door to the room goes through the shop, although there’s another entrance on the backside of the building. Just knock and give her a holler, and she’ll come down.”

 

“I think I’ll wait and ask her permission before I appear on her doorstep after dark,” Nicole laughs softly. “Although, I appreciate your trust in lettin’ me know.”

 

Chrissy lingers overlong for a moment, and Nicole can tell she wants to ask something, and she’s pretty certain she knows what it is, although she’s not going to put her boot in it, just in case, so she starts with an indirect question. 

 

“There something else you wanted to ask, Miss Nedley?” Nicole inquires gently. “By all means, do. I’d hate to keep you any longer if you have someplace to be…”

 

“I do…” Chrissy says slowly. “But…”

 

“You don’t want to offend me?” Nicole asks with a slightly amused voice. “I promise you won’t, I’ve got pretty tough skin. Go ahead.”

 

“Are you…” Chrissy starts before she trails off again. “I mean, before I ask, I want you to know it’s perfectly okay if you are - more than okay, actually - I think we could use a bit of diversity in this town, and….”

 

“Miss Nedley,” Nicole says softly, cutting off her rambling. 

 

“Sorry,” Chrissy replies as her cheeks break out in a blush. “You don’t even need to answer if you don’t feel comfortable, or it’s not something you like to discuss, and I won’t tell a soul, if you do…..”

 

She twists her hands, and Nicole has to do her level best not to laugh, because she doesn’t want to offend her, not at all, but it’s hard not to when she’s caught in this much turmoil trying to ask one simple question. 

 

“Are you….” Chrissy attempts again, and the determined look on her brow tells Nicole she’s going to get this out, come hell or high water this time. “Do you prefer the company of woman? As opposed to men, I mean. Are you….?”

 

“I am,” Nicole says a little nervously. Because she’s long since made peace with who she is, but others struggle to make that leap sometimes, and more often than not, her  _ preferences,  _ when revealed, lead to open hostility at worst, and avoidance at best. “I mean, I do. Is that….”

 

“It’s okay,” Chrissy says eagerly. “More than, in fact. I mean  _ I’m _ not, but it’s fine. More than fine, I mean. Boy, I’m doing a terrible job of trying to ease your mind, huh?”

 

“It’s okay,” Nicole replies as her face flushes red. “You’re doing just fine. It’s not something I yell from the rooftops, but I don’t hide it. I don’t believe I should, come to that. I’m not embarrassed of who I am. Even if there are those that think I should be.”

 

“Well, I certainly don’t think you should be embarrassed. In fact, some days I can see the appeal. Especially when the alternative is Champ Hardy,” Chrissy says, smiling, and Nicole has the distinct impression that there’s something else she wants to say, because her smile keeps getting wider. 

 

“Miss Haught?” Chrissy asks finally, and Nicole can’t help the curious turn of her brow when she responds. 

 

“Miss Nedley?” Nicole returns a little formally, because she really doesn’t know what’s about to come out of Chrissy’s mouth. 

 

“I wasn’t the one that told you this, alright?” Chrissy says as her gaze drops to her hands and she plays with the ring around one of her fingers. “Because I don’t even know if I’m  _ right, _ but I think I am, I really do….”

 

“Chrissy,” Nicole says softly, at which she looks up to meet Nicole’s gaze. “The anticipation is boiling me alive.”

 

She doesn’t hurry over the final part of her sentence, though, and Nicole wonders what on earth it could be that it’s making her squirm like this, but that she’s not hurrying to clarify. 

 

“Waverly Earp,” Chrissy offers finally as she looks to Nicole, and her expression is that of someone who’s just given her a key to the biggest treasure trove this side of heaven. 

 

“I think that, maybe, she’s the same.”

  
  


-

  
  


She knows it doesn’t do to get her hopes up, really, she does know this, but it’s the hardest thing in the world not to. 

 

Because Waverly Earp, who Nicole fell for the second she saw her, might be…like her. 

 

She’s had her share of hopeless crushes, and a couple that turned out to be not so hopeless, and she’s felt deeply for girls before, but not like this. 

 

Never so fast, either. 

 

Because she’s barely known Waverly for a full day, and already she knows she’d stand in front of a cannon for her. 

 

And maybe, just maybe, there’s the hope that, given time, Waverly might feel the same. 

  
  


-

  
  


It’s late afternoon when Chrissy leaves Nicole to her own thoughts, far too early to settle in for the evening, so Nicole spends a little time rearranging the few small belongings she has in her new accommodation before she sets out back into the relative bustle of the Main Street. 

 

She has a few things she wants to do before she does retire back to her room, and checking up on her horse is top of that list. 

 

She’s served Nicole exceptionally well the last few years, as a companion and a partner, and Nicole’s not bothered to admit she’s more than a little fond of the animal. 

 

Chrissy had led her and her horse to the livery stable down on one of the ends of the Main Street, almost on the edge of the town line, earlier in the day during their walk to the station, so it’s with ease that she follows their footsteps back to her friend. 

 

The horse is more than a little pleased to see her, snorting and tail whipping as Nicole makes her way to the large stall that holds her. 

 

“Hi, girl,” Nicole says soothingly as she runs her palm from the animal’s forehead down to its muzzle. “You missed me, huh? I missed you, too.”

 

“Fine animal you got there,” the woman who runs the stable says -- Mattie, Nicole remembers;  _ Mattie _ \-- as she walks towards them both. 

 

“I won’t argue with you there,” Nicole replies, turning to greet Mattie. “She’s lovely, alright.”

 

“Well behaved,” Mattie says, walking into the stall with the horse, running her hand down the length of the animal before she encourages each of its hooves up off the ground so she can check on its shoes. “And well cared for, too. Shame there aren’t more like you, Deputy. What’s her name?”

 

“Lady Jane,” Nicole says with a light blush as she catches Mattie’s eye. “But I call her Lady, mostly. That’s what she seems to like the best.”

 

“You look like a Lady Jane, don’t you?” Mattie asks the horse, walking around the animal's body with plenty of room to spare, given the larger stall size. 

 

“Thank you for having her here while Miss Nedley walked me around town,” Nicole says gratefully. “I wonder whether you might have a place for her on a more permanent basis? I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, but I’ve certainly got plans to stay for a while.”

 

“We’re pretty occupied,” Mattie says, gesturing around to the other stalls, which are all completely full. “But I’ll always make a place for a beautiful beast like this.”

 

They organise a modest weekly rate, and Mattie assures Nicole that she can come for Lady, day or night, so Nicole leaves a time later, both relieved and pleased to have found such a suitable lodging for her horse. 

 

The street is quieter when Nicole makes her way back through town. Almost every person she walks past stops and stares at the newcomer, and she does her best to shoot a smile every which way, stopping to introduce herself to a few people she guesses are of significance in the small town. 

 

She ducks her head into the saloon for a drink, shaking the hand of Robert Simons, Shorty to the locals, talking a while about the general atmosphere of the town before Nicole takes her leave of them, too. 

 

It’s almost dusk by the time she makes her way back past Waverly’s shop, the sun dangerously low in the sky. Most of the other storefronts have already shut for the evening, Waverly’s one of the last with an open door. 

 

The pink and purple light from the setting sun catches and holds in the numerous bottles in the front window, and Nicole moves towards the door with the intention of stealing one last glance of Waverly Earp before she turns in. 

 

Waverly’s not by herself, though, she’s accompanied by a thin, stern looking woman whose face softens when she looks at Waverly’s, but hardens when she sees Nicole coming. 

 

“Deputy,” Waverly says with a wide smile as Nicole walks in the door, removing her hat. “I was hopin’ you’d call by on your way past at some stage. I want to introduce you to someone.”

 

“I hope it’s not an inconvenience to call on you,” Nicole says apologetically. “I just wanted to make sure our friend hadn’t caused you any grief this afternoon.”

 

“Not a sign of him,” Waverly beams at her. “I was just tellin’ Gus here. Forgive me, Deputy Haught, this is my Aunt Gus.”

 

“Aunt is a loose term,” Gus says with a wry smile. “I’m a friend of Waverly’s family.”

 

“Nicole Haught,” Nicole replies genially, her mind spinning as she places Gus within all the small pockets of Waverly’s life that Chrissy had explained. Caregiver, pseudo-parent, Inn owner. 

 

Nicole holds her hand out for Gus to shake. “It’s a pleasure, ma’am.”

 

“Friend of the family makes you sound like a casual acquaintance,” Waverly grumbles a little, her face turning in a frown that Nicole almost falters over because it’s that lovely. “You’re my family, too.”

 

“Of course I am, Waverly,” Gus replies as she pats Waverly’s hand on the countertop. “And no need to  _ ma’am _ me, I’m certainly not a lady. It’s good to meet you, Deputy. Waverly here was just telling me all about you.”

 

“She was?” Nicole asks, a little surprised, looking to Waverly with a smile as she shakes Gus’s hand before dropping it. 

 

“All good things, I promise,” Waverly says with a wink that makes Nicole’s stomach drop. “I was tellin’ Gus about your offer to throw Champ outside on his ass.”

 

“Oh,  _ gladly _ ,” Nicole says as she moves in the shop a little more so she can lean against the counter next to Gus. 

 

“That makes two of us, darlin’,” Gus growls under her breath. “We’ve been trying to bat that boy away from Waverly for years. He just don’t seem to understand what no means.”

 

“He might have a better idea once I’m done with him,” Nicole says back in a similar tone. 

 

She looks up, conscious of how much she’s giving away regarding how keen she is to keep Waverly from him -  _ safe _ from him, she corrects herself - and she’s prepared for a frown on Gus’s forehead if she puts two and two together. 

 

Which, judging by the look of keen interest on her face, she might have, but there’s no accompanying frown, only a look of careful consideration. 

 

“Thank you for preparing the lodging for me,” Nicole says in an attempt to steer the subject into slightly easier territory. “The room was a very welcome surprise, and a pleasant reprieve from sleepin’ rough.”

 

“No problem,” Gus replies, continuing to watch Nicole carefully, and Nicole thinks she knows what Gus is doing. She’s trying to get the measure of her. She’s trying to establish Nicole’s character. “Everything to your satisfaction? Young Miss Nedley told you about the meals, you’ll have to come and collect them, but they’ll be there for you if you want ‘em.”

 

“She did,” Nicole says gratefully. “I understand Nedley’s covered the cost from my wages, but just let me know if there’s anything else you’re needing, alright?”

 

“That’s very kind of you, but there’s nothin’ else for you to worry about, Deputy,” Gus replies with a hint of respect in her tone. “Besides, if you can keep that hound away from our Waverly, I’ll have to start payin’ you.”

 

“It’s no job,” Nicole offers as she looks to Waverly, and the shorter girl blushes a little beneath the attention. “None at all. My pleasure, in fact.”

 

“I’m sure it is,” Gus says carefully, looking between the two of them, and Nicole herself blushes lightly beneath the scrutiny. 

 

“Anyway, where are my damn manners,” Nicole says as she scoops her hat off the counter. “I’m terribly sorry to have interrupted you both. Thank you again, ma’am.”

 

She hazards as long a look at Waverly as she thinks she can get away with given Gus’ careful eye on them both, and doesn’t miss the way Waverly’s face seems to fall, just a fraction, when she announces her departure. 

 

“You’re not a bother,” Waverly says quickly. “Not at all, right Gus?”

 

“‘Course not, Deputy,” Gus replies, and Nicole looks for a hint of sarcasm, but to Nicole’s surprise, there’s nothing there. “Although, Miss Haught probably has a few other things to see to before she retires for the evening.”

 

“Of course,” Waverly says, shaking her head. “Of course you do, first day in town and all. I’m sorry, Nicole.  _ Haught _ , Deputy Haught, I mean.”

 

“Nicole is just fine, Waverly,” Nicole says, laughing softly as she tries to suppress the grin at Waverly’s flustered ramble. “And I should be turnin’ in, I’m afraid. I’d hate to miss my first meal.”

 

Nicole is holding back as much as she can, expression-wise, eager not to give too much away too soon, but Waverly has no compunction to do the same, no effort whatsoever going into schooling the slightly disappointed expression on her face. 

 

“Tomorrow, though,” Nicole offers in an attempt to make her smile again. Curious to see whether it will work. “I’ll call on you on my way to the jail in the morning. If that’s okay?”

 

“Of course,” Waverly replies excitedly. “Of course, that would be wonderful.”

 

“Only if I’m not…” Nicole offers, giving Waverly an out if she doesn’t want Nicole to swing by, if she’s reading the flutter she can almost see move across Waverly’s skin incorrectly. 

 

“You’re not,” Waverly says with an eager smile. “I mean, I’d love for you to call on me. To call by, I mean. Darn, I….”

 

“I know what you mean, Waverly,” Nicole returns softly and without thinking she reaches across the counter for Waverly’s hand. 

 

She’s closer than Nicole thought she was, having inched without conscious thought towards Nicole and away slightly from Gus, so she makes contact with Waverly’s skin sooner than she’s expecting. 

 

It’s a touch, it’s one small  _ tiny _ touch, but it stops Nicole’s heart all the same. 

 

It’s a touch, but it’s more than a touch, too, because their skin meets, and suddenly, Nicole feels like she’s found something very, very old. Something buried in her blood her entire life. 

 

And it’s risen at Waverly Earp’s call. 

 

Waverly looks down at their hands, and Nicole’s not sure what’s happening in Waverly’s head, but it’s something akin to what’s happening in her own, if the glassy look in her eyes is anything to go by. 

 

Waverly looks down at their hands, and then up to Nicole, her expression shifting, and for an instant, Nicole’s worried that she’s read this all wrong, so she goes to shift her hand away, but Waverly’s on top of her own stops her. 

 

“Till the morning?” Waverly asks Nicole with a quiet intensity that makes Nicole feel like there’s no one in the world but the two of them, no Gus next to them, or a single other soul in this whole town. 

 

Just them. 

 

There’s something behind her eyes that Nicole hasn’t seen in a very long time, too, and it makes her heart skip heavily as she tries to remind herself how to breathe. 

 

_Hope_ , she thinks. _It’s_ _hope_. 

 

Gus clears her throat loudly somewhere a million miles away to her left, and it snaps them both out of their trance and back to set their heels on the earth. 

 

“‘Til the morning,” Nicole says by way of confirmation, and she hopes the weight in her gaze says something else to Waverly, too. 

 

She gives Waverly’s hand a gentle squeeze that Waverly returns with a shy smile before Nicole finally takes her hand back. 

 

She doesn’t want to, though. She wants to leave it in the warmth of Waverly’s own. And never, ever take it away. 

 

“The morning,” Waverly echoes as she drops her head and nods softly. She looks up, meeting Nicole’s eyes one last time, and the hope blooms louder and brighter in Nicole’s chest.  

 

“Now, young lady,” Gus says, breaking the connection still strung out between the two of them. “Do you need an escort out to the homestead, or…”

 

“I think I’ll stay here tonight,” Waverly replies quickly, looking at Nicole as she does so, and Nicole has the distinct impression that it has something to do with that fact that she might be just across the street. “I mean, there are a few things I want to sort. I had a box of a few pickings come in today that need to be steeped straight away or they’ll ruin, so I’ll just shut the door and work away.”

 

“You’ll be alright?” Gus asks as she eyes Waverly with a maternal look of doubt. 

 

“Of course,” Waverly answers easily. “You’re just down the way, like always. And Deputy….Nicole, won’t be far away, either.”

 

“This’ll keep,” Gus says, gesturing to the small parcel of food in a basket she has obviously brought Waverly for her evening meal. “If you want to come and have dinner at the Inn.”

 

“Gus, I’ve been here for how many years now?” Waverly says with a sigh. “Three? Four? I think I’ll be okay for one night.”

 

“I know you’re a damn adult now,” Gus replies with a similar tone in return. “But somethin’ in the air feels off tonight. I’d just feel better if I knew you were safe.”

 

“With that door bolted, I’m safer than in the damn jail,” Waverly says with a wry smile at the door. “Curtis made sure of that when I started sleeping upstairs.”

 

“I know,” Gus returns with a resigned tone in her voice as she gathers herself to leave. “I know you are, kid. Doesn’t stop an old woman from worryin’, though.”

 

“I’ll keep an eye on her, ma’am,” Nicole interjects gently, in the hope that it might ease some of Waverly’s aunt’s concerns. “I mean, I’m only just across the way. I’m sure if Waverly yells loud enough, I’ll hear it from there.”

 

“You’ve got a hell of a set of lungs on you, girl,” Gus says with a laugh as she looks to Waverly fondly. “Alright. But if you feel anything off, you holler at the deputy, okay? And you’ve still got your….”

 

“Under the cot upstairs,” Waverly nods in reply, and Nicole assumes they’re referring to some sort of weapon. “Clean and prime it every night before bed.”

 

“You’re Wynonna’s sister, alright,” Gus sighs finally before she pushes away from the counter. “Alright, ladies. I’ll take my leave of you. Deputy, I know I’ve known you all of a hot minute, but I’m dependin’ on you, alright? Maybe it’s just old age and a cautious mind, but the ground feels heavy tonight. I don’t like it.”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole replies seriously, because she knows this isn’t a responsibility given lightly, and it means Gus, in the short meeting they’ve just had, has seen something in Nicole that she’s willing to trust. 

 

Or, at the very least, take a chance on. 

 

“You can count on me,” Nicole says solemnly as Gus pulls Waverly into a rough hug over the counter before she pushes the door open. 

 

“I hope so, Deputy,” Gus returns finally. “I really do.”

 

She’s gone with the gentle chime of the bell on the top of the door, and then, suddenly, Nicole realises the situation they’ve found themselves in. 

 

Because she’s alone, with Waverly, for the first time.  And she has no idea what to do now. 

 

It’s not that she hasn’t done  _ this _ before, the being alone with a girl thing, because she has. Not often, and not without a great deal of background work, but she has. 

 

Waverly isn’t the first girl to have caught her eye, but she’s the only one that’s managed to reduce Nicole to a soft mess of romantic ideas and dreams in the space of just a few hours. 

 

Nicole is pretty sure she could  _ love _ her, if she doesn’t already. 

 

“So,” Waverly says a little coyly as she reaches forward across the counter, not for Nicole’s hands necessarily, more to demonstrate where she’d like them to be. “You really have to go?”

 

“I really kinda do,” Nicole replies regretfully, and she’s already trying to fire through several situations where she can spend the evening here with Waverly, but she knows she needs a good rest. 

 

She knows how important her first official day on the job is. 

 

“Good Lord, I wish I could stay,” Nicole says, and she hopes that Waverly understands just how much she does want that. “But I’d better be getting back if I want to eat tonight. And I’m worried enough about tomorrow. At least if I’m asleep, I can’t be worryin’ myself sick, can I?”

 

“You know...” Waverly says with a smile before she trails off, distracted. 

 

She ducks behind the counter, clearly looking for something, although what, Nicole has no idea. She moves up and down, muttering to herself before she exclaims brightly, and Nicole understands that to mean she has found whatever it was that she was looking for. 

 

She holds a tiny glass phial up to Nicole with a blinding smile on her face before she reaches across the counter and presses it into Nicole’s hands. 

 

“It’s peppermint oil with a tiny dash of chamomile,” Waverly says with a shy grin as Nicole turns the small object to and fro, watching the way the liquid moves inside. “Nothing untoward, I promise. If you take the top off you’ll be able to smell it.”

 

Nicole’s struck with the thoughtfulness of Waverly’s gesture, and for a moment it’s all she can do just to stare back a little blankly. 

 

“It’ll help settle your stomach and ease your nerves,” Waverly offers by way of an explanation. “You don’t have to take it if you don’t want to. Or don’t trust it. I just thought….”

 

“It’s perfect,” Nicole says with a slightly thick throat, because it’s been a long, long time since anyone gave much of a damn about her. “Thank you. You’ll have to let me….”

 

“I’m not taking anything for it,” Waverly says sternly, and Nicole smiles at the steel in her voice, intrigued by it. “Consider your presence tonight, and in the morning if you still feel inclined, payment enough.”

 

“You’re sure?” Nicole offers, even though she knows the answer will be yes. 

 

“Absolutely,” Waverly confirms as she nods. “Your money’s no good here, Deputy. Your company is, though.”

 

“Well, I’ve got that in spades,” Nicole says with a quick wink before she casts her eye to the now-setting sun outside. “Waverly, as much as I’d far rather…”

 

“It’s okay,” Waverly replies, and she’s calmer now, the disappointment in her voice is quieter. Like she knows Nicole will be back soon, so there’s no need to fret. “Go. I understand.”

 

“Tomorrow morning,” Nicole says with a wide smile, and it’s half a question and half a dream. 

 

“Tomorrow morning,” Waverly sighs, blushing as she watches Nicole push off the counter top. 

 

“Hey,” Nicole says as she stops with her hand on the door frame. “I’d love to learn more about the shop. And about you, too. Maybe one night I could come sit with you after closin’, and you can tell me a bit more about you.”

 

“Only if I can learn about you, too,” Waverly offers in return. “I’d like that, Miss Haught. I’d really, really like that.”

 

“Only if you’re not sick of the sight of me by then,” Nicole says with a laugh, giving Waverly an out. Because she’s smitten as heck, but it doesn’t matter a lick if Waverly doesn’t want her there. 

 

“I don’t think that’ll be possible,” Waverly replies, and for a second Nicole’s heart drops, but then she carries on. “Getting sick of the sight of you. I don’t think that’ll ever be possible.”

 

_ God, she’s so charming and she doesn’t even know it _ , Nicole thinks to herself as she watches the completely innocent look on Waverly’s face.  _ How on earth did I get lucky enough to find myself on the same damn patch of dirt as her? _

 

“Go, Deputy,” Waverly urges lightly, looking to Nicole with a pleased smile, and Nicole realises that she’s been caught staring. “I won’t have you unpresentable on my account for your first day.”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole says as she inclines her head and bows slightly, and Waverly laughs. “Tomorrow?”

 

“Tomorrow,” Waverly replies, and the light in her eyes is brighter than the stars outside. 

 

-

  
  


Nicole diverts her walk back across the road via the bathhouse to get as clean and presentable as she can possibly manage. 

 

She pays the tariff gladly with a little of the money she had been able to save and bring with her from her previous station, and the feeling of the steaming water over her road-tired muscles and dirt-dusty body is worth every coin. 

 

It’s hard not to think of Waverly, with her touch still hot on Nicole’s skin, and there’s no harm in daydreaming, Nicole thinks to herself. So she does. 

 

She realises that she knows next to nothing about who Waverly actually is. She has a rough idea of her history from a reasonably reliable source, but she doesn’t know who Waverly  _ is _ just yet. But she’ll learn; she’ll learn everything if Waverly will let her. 

 

And actually, she does know a few things, once she thinks about it. She knows that Waverly’s smile lights a room, even with the weight of her family history on her shoulders. She knows that she’s kind to strangers, and to others that don’t necessarily deserve it, like Champ. 

 

She knows she’s fought an uphill battle since she was a small girl, and that her strength probably trumps Nicole’s own, tenfold. 

 

And she knows she’s the most beautiful girl Nicole has ever laid eyes on. 

 

She stays in the cast iron tub until the water is tepid and her skin is wrinkled and every inch of her smells like the salts and softer soaps left beside the bath for her, before finally she drags herself out and dresses to head back to the Inn. 

 

The downstairs half of Waverly’s shop is unlit, and the door closed and bolted shut, but there’s a faint glow coming from the upstairs room that makes Nicole’s hands warm. 

 

_ Tomorrow _ , Nicole thinks to herself.  _ Tomorrow _ . 

  
  


-

  
  


“You just about missed your evening meal, Deputy,” Gus says with a frown. “Don’t think we’re gonna keep cookin’ at night until you grace us with your presence.”

 

“Oh, no, ma’am, it’s not that at all,” Nicole replies, a little caught off guard. “I didn’t expect you to. I stopped by the baths, and I guess my saddle-sore body needed more soakin’ than I thought. I have a few scraps to eat upstairs. I hadn’t expected dinner to still be served.”

 

“That’s alright, then,” Gus says with a sharp smile, and Nicole knows from her expression it was a test. Just as much as her interaction with Waverly at her shop was. 

 

“You won’t ever find me expectin’ special treatment, Gus,” Nicole offers by way of a reassurance and an olive branch, both. “I appreciate it to high heaven, but I’ve been looking after myself for a long time now. Truth of it is, I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone cook me anything proper since I was a child.”

 

She watches as Gus nods, seemingly pleased with her answer, and she’s about to take her leave and make her way into the dining room to see if there’s anything left when Gus’ voice stops her. 

 

“You got a favourite?” Gus asks gruffly, but Nicole’s taken aback by the question regardless. “Thing to eat, I mean.”

 

“Uh,” Nicole says a little blankly, and it takes her a moment to actually  _ think _ , before she blushes shyly. “Anything sweet, to tell you the truth. I’m not fussy, as long as it’ll make your teeth ache.”

 

“Sweet, okay, good,” Gus murmurs to herself as she looks back down at the ledger in front of her, and Nicole considers herself dismissed. 

 

She’s a foot away from the next room when Gus speaks again. 

 

“Waverly’s a good girl,” Gus says sternly, and Nicole’s beginning to see a pattern with this woman and her tone of voice. “She’s the best of us, in actual fact. You bear that in mind, whatever your intentions are, won’t you?”

 

“Ma’am, I….” Nicole tries to say before Gus cuts her off. 

 

“I’m not interested in specifics, Deputy, they’re your business and yours alone,” Gus says seriously, and Nicole straightens her back automatically under Gus’s heavy gaze. “Just whatever you’ve a mind to do, make sure you see it through. And know I’m just as quick with a pistol as half the men in this town if I need to be.”

 

“I know you don’t want specifics, but you need to know that my intentions,” Nicole replies, holding her ground, “aAll of them are honourable, and they’ll be nothin’ short of what Waverly herself wants.”

 

“I’m glad to hear it, Miss Haught,” Gus says, using Nicole’s surname, and not her station, in a slightly softer lilt, and Nicole knows that’s what she was hoping to hear. 

 

“I know she’s special,” Nicole admits quietly, and normally she’d be a lot more careful about being so explicit in regards to herself,  but something tells her Gus values truth, so she opens her heart. “I’ve known her a few hours, and I know she’s special. If she’s so generous as to share more of herself with me, I’ll take every single drop, but if not, then the least I can do is keep assholes like Champ at bay to give her the opportunity to pursue what it is she really wants.”

 

“That’s right and proper of you,” Gus says in appreciation, and she doesn’t look up, but Nicole thinks it’s not for a lack or respect for her, but a precaution in Gus not giving herself away. 

 

She doesn’t say much, but her words have weight, and they carry Nicole up the stairs and into a different world, that’s how meaningful they are. 

 

“You might not know the girl yet, but I do. And I think she already is.”

  
  


-

  
  


Nicole’s more than a little exhausted by the time she finally lays her head down that night. 

 

She had managed to scrape together a small, but filling, dinner from the dining room before retiring upstairs and readying herself for sleep. 

 

Her clothes are neatly lined up for the morning. She doesn’t have a uniform, per se, but it’s a uniform in so far as it’s what she normally wears, day in and day out. Draped over the back of the chair at the small writing desk in her room are a pair of woolen trousers, an undershirt, a cotton button-up long sleeved shirt for over that, and a wool vest to top off the upper half of her body. Hanging off the side of the chair is her hat and her holster containing her pistol, with her boots on the floor beneath them.

 

Honestly, Nicole’s expecting sleep to evade her, as busy as her mind and unfamiliar as the territory is, but it doesn’t. 

 

The soft smell of the soap and the general lightheadedness from spending so long in the warm water, and a few drops of Waverly’s little mixture in a cup of hot water from the kitchen, carry her swiftly off to sleep. 

 

She’s never been a dreamer, her sleep light and broken, or too deep to remember, but the first night in Purgatory, she  _ dreams _ . 

 

Nicole dreams of the late, late afternoon sun, and light flares off of delicate glass bottles, and the prettiest girl she’s ever seen with a gold ring of Nicole’s own on a chain around her neck, nestled against her heart. 

 

She dreams of warm hands in her own, and warmer flesh beneath her hands, and when she wakes, hours before dawn, the simple notion of those things, they fill her so heavy with hope that she doesn’t sleep again. 

  
  


-


	2. two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys the response to the first chapter was so amazing, I'm giving you a little treat of another chapter for the first week!
> 
> Thank you so much for all the lovely comments, keep them coming and come by and say hi on [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) too! 
> 
> x

-

  
  


Nicole fastens the top button on her waist coat, smoothing the fabric down her stomach and checking her appearance over in the small mirror provided in the room, before she fixes the holster with her pistol and leaves to face the world. 

 

She doesn’t get far, though, because she opens her door to the hallway and almost trips over a small bundle just outside her door. 

 

She crouches down a little cautiously, unsure what the bundle contains, and is pleasantly surprised to find a handful of what look like molasses cakes. 

 

_ Gus _ , she thinks warmly as she scoops the bundle up and tucks it into the small satchel at her other hip.  _ Guess she doesn’t think I’m the devil in leather boots then, huh? _

 

She doesn’t bother to stop for breakfast, even though she can smell it coming hot and delicious from the kitchen on her way out the door. She’s so damn nervous that she doesn’t think she’ll be able to keep anything down, and she’s still got a little jerky, and now Gus’s cookies, to keep her going for a while. 

 

She doesn’t see Gus on the way out, but she nods her head to Curtis on her way past, by way of a greeting before she steps outside. 

 

It’s still early, the sun's only just begun to rise, and the air has that crisp pre-dawn smell about it that Nicole fills her lungs with. It’s quiet still, very quiet, in fact there are only one or two people milling around, and before she hazards a glance across the road, she’s concerned for a second that she will have beaten Waverly to rising, but she needn’t have worried. 

 

The door to the shop isn’t open, but Nicole can see Waverly through the window anyway, playing with something in her hands that Nicole can’t make out from this distance. 

 

She walks across the road with a spring in her step, not paying mind to anything but the brunette who positively beams upon seeing Nicole walk towards her. 

 

She ducks under one edge of the counter before moving quickly to the door, unbolting it so she can beckon Nicole inside. 

 

“Good morning,” Waverly says to her brightly as she closes the door behind Nicole before scooting back under to take her place on the other side. “I wasn’t sure if you’d remember, or be too busy.”

 

She’s wearing a long brown skirt today, with a crisp white shirt pushed up above her elbows already, and Nicole thinks she looks resplendent.

 

“Good morning to you, too,” Nicole breathes back, soaking in the light  _ pouring _ off Waverly, that, Nicole can only surmise, has come as a result of her proximity. “Of course I’d remember, how could I forget? I was worried I’d be too early for you.” 

 

“I’ve been up for hours,” Waverly admits a little sheepishly, moving to pull a couple of small cups with something delightfully aromatic towards them. It smells different to the brew she’d had last night, a little lighter maybe, with a hint of citrus, but equally soothing. “I didn’t want to miss you.”

 

“Waverly Earp,” Nicole says in a soft playful tone as she watches the blush creep up Waverly’s neck. “Don’t you go wasting sleep on me, okay? If I miss you in the morning, I’ll catch you later on in the day, don’t you worry.”

 

“You mean you’ll call in again?” Waverly asks hopefully. “Tomorrow morning, on your way past?”

 

“I’ll call on you every morning, if you want,” Nicole replies with a hopeful smile of her own. “If I’m not out of line, or a hassle?” 

 

“Nicole Haught, you couldn’t be a hassle to me if you tried,” Waverly says softly, and Nicole can tell she means it from the gentle curve of her shoulders as she moves ever so slightly closer to Nicole. “I’d love it, if you would. If it doesn’t put you out?”

 

“Waverly Earp,” Nicole returns in an echo of Waverly, her smile widening. “You couldn’t put me out if you tried. I’d really like that, if that’s okay. You know, make sure your not being bothered or hassled….”

 

Waverly drops her head to hide her blush, but Nicole catches it as it pinkens the tips of her ears, just visible through the way she’s styled her hair today, half up in a bun and half down, long around her shoulders. 

 

“Here,” Waverly says as she slides one of the cups towards Nicole in an attempt to direct the subject away from herself. “I made something for us - well, for you - but it’s easier to make enough for two.”

 

Whatever the liquid is, it grows more and more aromatic the closer the cup moves to Nicole, and she’s struck for the first, but definitely not the last time, that it almost has a touch of witchcraft about it, that’s how good it smells, and tastes, Nicole confirms after she has a sip. 

 

Which is ridiculous, of course, because she’s sure Waverly Earp is  _ many _ things, but a witch is  _ not _ one of them. 

 

“What is it?” Nicole asks curiously as she takes the cup carefully between her hands. “Also, you know you don’t have to bribe me through the door with a drink, right? I’ll willingly come without them.”

 

“I know,” Waverly says, her blush deepening. “But I wanted you to have something to start your day well. If you like it, that is. And please don’t feel like you have to drink a drop if you think it’s awful, by the way.” 

 

Nicole gives Waverly a look over the top of the cup as she raises it to her mouth that says  _ don’t be ridiculous, _ before she takes a sip, groaning at the taste when it hits her tongue. 

 

“Good lord,” Nicole says, suppressing the urge to drink it all at once. “This is incredible, Waverly. Did you make this off a recipe? What on earth is it?”

 

“No, I just make everything myself,” Waverly shrugs modestly. “This is just something I brew when I get up. There’s a mess of other things, but there’s citrus mainly. I find that gives me a bit of a lift when sleep holds itself outta’ reach. And one of the plants I use for most of the tea has a hint of something that helps, too. Or that’s what I’ve found, anyway.”

 

“You’ve got a heck of a lot of knowledge about this stuff, huh?” Nicole says to Waverly, heartily impressed. 

 

“I guess so,” Waverly replies quietly, obviously unused to compliments. “I’ve never really thought about it, I’ve just always played with it, ever since I was young. I used to like watching Gus cook with different herbs when I was small, and it just started from there. They used to order in extra of their cooking supplies to begin with, bought a few books off traveling salesmen, until I started collecting and growing my own cuttings.”

 

“I’d love to hear more about it sometime,” Nicole says genuinely, and the way Waverly lights up at her interest makes her heart skip a beat. “All of it, the plants and you. If you’d…damn it.”

 

“What’s wrong?” Waverly asks, her voice quick and concerned. “Is it too hot? Did it burn…”

 

“No, no, not at all,” Nicole hurries to explain with a frown, looking down at her chest. “I left my damn bandana at the Inn. I probably have time to go and fetch it before I head down-”

 

“Actually,” Waverly says with a slightly pleased, but nervous tone to her voice as she temporarily abandons her cup on the counter to pull something from the pocket of her dress. “I kind of have somethin’ for you.”

 

“You do?” Nicole asks, her blood moving through her wrists with a heavy throb. “What do you…”

 

She’s thankful that Waverly steps forward then, because she’s not actually sure how she would have finished her sentence without her. She’s speechless, because Waverly  _ has _ something for her. 

 

A small token, perhaps? 

 

_ Or her heart? _

 

Nicole’s eyes have been on Waverly’s own, but they drop, finally, to the item in her hands, and her heart skips and leaps. 

 

“It’s only small,” Waverly says shyly as she hands Nicole the soft scrap of material. “And please don’t feel as though you have to wear it if it’s not…if you don’t…”

 

Nicole’s attention shifts to the token in her hand,  _ a new bandana _ , she thinks as her pulse races,  _ as if she had known I’d forget my own this morning _ . She took the time to…

 

“I stitched somethin’ small, it’s only your initials, but I know things like this often get misplaced, and I wanted you to be able to find it if…” Waverly explains as she twists her hands nervously. “But please, don’t feel as though you…”

 

She knows she needs to say something, because she hasn’t yet, but her breath seems to be stuck in her throat or beneath her feet or anywhere but free in her lungs. 

 

So she looks to Waverly with an expression that she hopes will convey a small part of what this means to her, how she feels, because Waverly made this for her, for  _ her _ , and no one in her life has done anything half as kind.  

 

“Did you really make this for me?” Nicole asks, her voice a little bewildered as her thumb moves over the small  **NH** stitched into one corner. 

 

“A welcome to Purgatory, gift,” Waverly offers, her smile burning in the light of Nicole’s reaction. “And a small thing to say thank you, for your kindness yesterday. It’s not an insignificant thing, showing your comfort with me even after you know what my last name is. It’s…it means a lot. And I don’t think anybody beyond my sister or Gus or Curtis has stood up for me for as long as I can remember, and you didn’t even  _ know _ me and you did.”

 

“I knew enough,” Nicole says quietly, running the fabric through her fingers. 

 

“How?” Waverly asks curiously as she smiles quietly. “How did you know?”

 

“I just knew,” Nicole says with a shrug, and it’s not a ploy, she’s not being intentionally coy, she doesn’t know why or how, but she just  _ knew _ . 

 

Because Chrissy’s history lesson, that had been important, that told her a lot about the kind of person Waverly Earp was, but seeing her, watching the way her eyes  _ spoke, _ had told Nicole what she really needed to know. 

 

She’s expecting Waverly to ask more, to prompt her for a better explanation, but then their eyes meet again and Nicole knows she doesn’t need one. 

 

She knows, too. 

 

“Regardless, though, it won’t…it’s okay if you don’t want to wear it,” Waverly says quietly. 

 

Nicole doesn’t say anything in reply; she  _ does _ , instead. 

 

Smiling at Waverly, she takes the bandana and starts to tie it easily around her neck. She’s about halfway through the movement when Waverly’s hands move. 

 

“Here,” she offers, reaching over the counter towards Nicole. “Let me…”

 

She doesn’t need help, both of them know it, but that makes Waverly’s gesture even more meaningful. 

 

Her fingers move warm and delicate over Nicole’s own as she takes the ends of the bandana gently from Nicole’s grip, and neither of them miss the way a shock passes through both of their bodies when they touch. 

 

It’s a little awkward, Nicole half leaning towards Waverly with the counter pressing into her side. The whole thing would be a hell of a lot easier if they were standing without a large slab of wood between them. 

 

But Waverly’s hands brush the side of her neck over her pulse, and her breath is warm on Nicole’s cheek, so a little discomfort is nothing. It’s nothing at all. 

 

“There,” Waverly says after a moment, leaning back a little to survey her handiwork. “I think that looks mighty fine, Deputy.”

 

“You think?” Nicole asks as she looks behind Waverly, trying to catch her reflection off one of the glass cabinet fronts. 

 

“Mighty fine,” Waverly replies a little distractedly before she blushes, realising what she’s suggesting with her words. “I mean…”

 

“I think it’s mighty fine, too,” Nicole says, reaching for Waverly’s hand, flat on the counter, in an attempt to calm her. “Thank you, Waverly. I want to say ‘you shouldn’t have’ a million damn times, but I know you won’t listen, so I’ll say thank you instead.”

 

“It was my pleasure, Deputy,” Waverly returns, her blush deepening. “I mean, it was my pleasure,  _ Nicole _ .”

 

“Much better,” Nicole says with a laugh before she slides her hand back from Waverly’s. 

 

They don’t get far, though, no, because Waverly’s hands chase hers as she draws them back towards her own body.

 

They settle warm over Nicole’s, and at first, she doesn’t say anything, as though she didn’t have any other reason to reach for Nicole beyond the fact that her body wanted to, blindly, but then she does. 

 

“Good luck for today,” Waverly offers with a sincerity that Nicole can feel flowing into her body where their hands touch. “And whatever happens, if you need a pick-me-up, or a pull-me-down, you could call by on your way past.”

 

“I appreciate it, ma’am,” Nicole says playfully, which Waverly smiles at, and it makes Nicole feel  _ happy _ , because it’s been a long time since she had this. Since she had someone to laugh with. “And if you’re not blind with the sight of me, I’ll surely call on you. For now, though, as much as I’d rather stay and drink a drum full of whatever you brew, I’m terribly sorry, but….”

 

“Off with you, then,” Waverly replies with a grin, taking her hand away from Nicole’s with as much reluctance as Nicole has in her entire body about leaving. 

 

She could stay and trip over a thousand platitudes, but there will be time for that later. If Nicole is lucky, they’ll have days and days and days of it. 

 

For now, though, she needs to take her first step at setting her bones down in Purgatory properly. She needs to find her place, to give herself a foothold so that she might stand next to Waverly as an equal here. 

 

And, if she’ll have her, as a partner. 

 

The bandana is a comfort around her neck as she leaves with a wink and a tip of her hat. 

 

And a promise, too. 

  
  


-

  
  


It’s still exceptionally early when she arrives at the jail, but she’s not the first one to relieve the deputy of his night shift, Nedley is. 

 

It’s a confirmation of what she’s already beginning to piece together about his character, that he’s here early to send the young man off to bed. 

 

That he cares about his men. That this isn’t something to fill his days with, that this means something to him, as it does to Nicole, too. 

 

“Haught,” Nedley says, a little surprised at seeing her so early. “Didn’t expect you for a few hours, not after the journey you had gettin’ to us yesterday.”

 

“You know what they say about the early bird,” Nicole replies with a slightly nervous smile, shifting from foot to foot.

 

“Well, it’s fine of you to be here,” he says, sounding a little impressed. “It’s good, will give us a chance to talk before the others get in the way.”

 

“Yes, sir,” Nicole says keenly as she moves to follow him to his desk. He gestures to the seat in front of it, and Nicole takes her place before waiting for him to speak. 

 

“I appreciate you takin’ the job, Haught. I know a few people have been put off after what happened to Ward, even given the accident was years ago,” Nedley says gruffly, and his tone sounds nonchalant, but Nicole can hear the genuineness in it, too.

 

“Of course, sir,” Nicole says, nodding. “I know people talk, but the truth of it is, I’ll never let someone else’s opinion make a decision for me.”

 

“I’m glad to hear it,” Nedley replies as he appraises her. “That’ll do you good here. Place sure isn’t short other people’s damn opinions, that’s for sure.”

 

“That was one of the things I was wantin’ to ask you, sir,” Nicole says, gently probing the subject she’s been dying to ask him about since yesterday. “Your daughter’s told me some, but I’d certainly appreciate a bit more history on the town. Know what I’m dealin’ with, that sort of thing.”

 

“How much time you got,” he asks cynically, to which Nicole laughs softly. “Purgatory’s not short of it’s characters, that’s for sure. There are a few trouble makers, but for the most part, they’re a pretty reasonable mob. Except concernin’ a few things.”

 

“Are you meaning the Earps, sir?” Nicole asks inquisitively, and honestly she’s glad he’s given her a foothold to ask, because Chrissy had been great yesterday, but she suspects there were a few things she was holding back that Nedley won’t. 

 

“I’m meaning the Earps,” Nedley replies, sighing heavily as he does so. “I know Chrissy told you some yesterday, but I want you to hear the full story from me, alright? There’s enough gossip in this town, the last thing I need is my deputies spreadin’ it further. You understand me?”

 

“Yes, sir,” Nicole says quickly, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t dream of it, sir.”

 

“Good,” Nedley returns with a scowl, although she suspects he already knew she would do nothing of the sort. “Well, I suppose I should start from the beginning. Their father, Ward Earp, and I had known each other for a long time. I was his deputy for a number of years, and a few around here paint him as a bit of a saint to make what Wynonna did worse, but truth is, he was an asshole.”

 

Nicole settles forward into her chair, listening intently as Nedley begins to tell his story. 

 

“He had to raise those girls young, and I know that ain’t easy, but a good enough man would have stepped up, rather than leaving the job to them to look after themselves. He was a devil with the drink, and I had the three of them on my doorstep in the middle of the night more than once, trying to escape his anger. He was a good cop, though, I won’t begrudge him that. He put more people away than anyone before him, which made him popular in town, but not so much with one of the local gangs.”

 

“I didn’t see anyone when I was walkin’ through town yesterday, sir,” Nicole says curiously, trying to recall the faces of everyone she saw and met, looking for anyone that might fit that image. 

 

“They used to live on the outskirts, but they don’t dare show their faces ‘round here no more,” Nedley growls, and Nicole can hear the anger clear in his voice now. “Not after what they did.”

 

“You mean…” Nicole asks quietly, referring to what she knows of the night Waverly’s father was killed. 

 

“They’d been plannin’ it for goddam weeks, and we missed it,” Nedley laments, and Nicole can hear the regret in his voice now, too. “A good deputy would have caught it. Would have kept those damn girls safe, but we all missed it. It was only that I was late returning home from chasing a loose beast that I came across things myself.”

 

And Nicole wants to interject, to tell him that what she knows of his character tells her that there wasn’t anything he could have done, but she knows it won’t make a difference. She knows she won’t be able to assuage his guilt, as deep as it sounds like it goes. 

 

“They turned up to the homestead in the middle of the night,” Nedley says quietly. “Stormed the house. Ward and Willa, she was the eldest, they were on the first floor, so they came across the two of them first. Wynonna and Waverly were upstairs, and came down when they heard the shouts. Wynonna, smart kid, went straight for where she knew Ward kept one of his guns. Even if she knew she couldn’t fire it properly, she was smart enough to know it was going to be one hell of a deterrent.”

 

“You’re not wrong there,” Nicole mutters under her breath before she motions for Nedley to continue. 

 

“They came into the room and saw Ward and Willa in a corner, surrounded by part of the gang, and Wynonna, brave as a grown man, started demanding they let her family go. They wouldn’t, of course, they just laughed, as the girls recall it. I don’t think they even thought the gun was loaded, but it was. One of the men tried to grab Wynonna, and they struggled, and the gun went off.”

 

Nedley pauses for a moment as he drops his head into his hands, and he looks so pained that Nicole wants to reach for him to offer some small comfort. 

 

“One bullet, two casualties, and four lives ruined,” Nedley says with a heavy drop of regret in his tone. “It coulda’ been any night that idiot was there by himself, but they had to wait until the girls were there, too.”

 

“I’m sorry, sir,” Nicole does offer then, and Nedley nods in recognition of her softness. 

 

“It could have been worse,” Nedley shrugs as he sits back in his seat. “They could have taken the two younger ones, too, but Wynonna went at them like the devil possessed after they tried to make away with Waverly. I could hear the ruckus from outside, girl’s got a set of lungs on her, I’ll tell you that. I started yelling a warning, and as soon as they heard someone else outside, they were out the back door and gone before I could so much as look in their direction. I could have ridden after them, but I couldn’t leave the girls with that mess. I rode them straight into town to Gus and Curtis, and collected a few men to help me clean up.”

 

“Jesus H,” Nicole breathes as the full story sinks against her chest, and for the first time, she wonders how Waverly has grown into the young woman she appears to be with  _ that _ much tragedy in her past. 

 

“The whole town knew by morning, Lord knows how,” Nedley says derisively. “A few of them wanted to hang Wynonna, can you believe that? A damn child.”

 

The thought makes Nicole feel physically ill, and she watches as Nedley pales at the memory, too. 

 

“We damn near had a shootout in Main Street that morning. A few men turned up at the Inn to take Wynonna to the jail, and Gus and Curtis sent them right back out into the street at gunpoint. Someone came hollerin’ for me, and I found them all screaming at each other with the girls tight between Gus and Curtis. I was Ward’s second, so I had the mantle, and managed to yell down the street myself that we  _ were _ never, and  _ would _ never, be in the business of killin’ children,” Nedley says roughly before he starts on the tail end of his story. 

 

The picture’s so vivid that Nicole can almost see them all in her mind’s eye, Waverly and Wynonna desperately clinging to each other with their grief wet on their cheeks, and the hounds of rage snapping at them as Gus and Curtis stood guard. 

 

“I let a shot off at someone’s feet, and they quieted down pretty quick. Everything went dark after that, I took the job permanently, and the girls went to live with Gus and Curtis. They did what they could to shelter the two of ‘em, but the town turned on Wynonna that day, and nothin’ me, nor they, could do seemed to shift that. She stayed until she was old enough to leave, and then she disappeared for a few years, left Waverly here. Folks use that as another nail in her coffin, but I think she did it to protect Waverly. I think she thought if she left, they’d ease off of her, which they did, but not a great deal. They still treat Waverly like it’s her fault, like they did her sister.”

 

“It sounds like a damn tragedy,” Nicole says sadly once she’s sure Nedley is finished talking.  

 

“It is, Haught,” Nedley replies seriously. “It’s a  _ goddamn _ tragedy. Now, it ain’t your job, but I’ve made it mine to make sure people know what really happened, alright? None of this crap that the girls are taken by the devil, or they’ve got witches’ blood in their veins. Somebody turned up to murder their family, and they made Wynonna do the job for them, instead.”

 

“I’d like to make it mine, too, sir,” Nicole says with an equal note of seriousness. “I know it’s not my job, and I know I barely know them, but I’d like to make it mine, too. And thank you, for takin’ the time to tell me the full story.”

 

“I thought you might,” Nedley answers with the hint of a smile on his lips. “I knew I’d like you, Haught. You’ll do well here, I think. If you’re like I think you are.”

 

She can feel the conversation coming to an end for now, but there’s something she wants to say to Nedley before he dismisses her. 

 

“Sir,” Nicole says with a slight thickness in her throat. “I wanted to thank you, too. For takin’ me on. I know most wouldn’t be interested in a woman for this job, and I want you to know, I’ll be as good a deputy as any of the men here. I promise.”

 

“Gender ain’t no guarantee of competence,” Nedley replies with a wry smile as he stands. “You don’t have to do nothin’ stupid to prove yourself to me, Haught. The letter I got from your old Sheriff more or less beggin’ me not to steal you has already done that for you. And so has your attitude since you got here. Don’t let people like Champ Hardy or any other small-minded idiots tell you differently, alright?”

 

“Begging your pardon, sir?” Nicole says gently, curious to know what he means, but not wanting to make it sound like she’s searching for a compliment. “My attitude, what do you…”

 

“Chrissy couldn’t praise you highly enough when I dragged my boots home last night,” Nedley returns by way of clarification. “Now, I know she seems like a sweet girl, but she ain’t stupid. And she’s a better judge of character than most of my men.”

 

“Oh,” Nicole says, dropping her head to hide her blush. “Well, I thought she was wonderful, too, sir. Couldn’t thank my lucky stars enough that she was the one I bumped into first.”

 

“She told me about your defending young Waverly,” Nedley says with a nod. “And about how you reacted to her tellin’ you their history. Truth of it is, it  _ is _ a damn tragedy. People of this town have made Wynonna a pariah, but she doesn’t deserve that. She might be a right pain in the ass now, but she is what they made her. It’s even worse that they give Waverly the same treatment.”

 

“Why do you think they do, sir?” Nicole asks, genuinely curious, because she’s been thinking about it herself, and can’t, for the life of herself, figure out why. 

 

“I’ve got no damn idea, Haught,” Nedley says honestly. “They didn’t even  _ like _ Ward, half of ‘em. But something turned them on that girl like someone slipped poison in their water.”

 

“Well, I don’t care about makin’ a few heads turn if I have to in order to let everyone know where I stand on the matter,” Nicole affirms as she stands. 

 

“Atta-girl,” Nedley says with an approving eye, grinning. “Now, enough chatter, I’ve gotta’ swear you in, and then the others can tell you about how we divide things here. You’ll have a week of nights once a month, and we take turns patrolling and riding out to the farms on the outskirts, makin’ sure everything’s in order.”

 

“Sounds just fine to me, sir,” Nicole nods, acknowledging him, and again, she’s thankful for the structure he seems to have in place here, because her last assignment had been a damn mess compared to this. 

 

“Oh, and Haught,” Nedley says, stopping the both of them short. “If you ever have a problem, big or small, with anythin’, I want you to come to me first, okay? I don’t need martyrs here. I want my people to tell me if there’s something worryin’ them.”

 

“Yes, sir,” Nicole confirms quickly. “You’ll be the first to know.”

 

“Good,” he says gruffly, but Nicole can sense that he’s pleased with how their time alone has gone, and that, if anything, she’s only confirmed what he already thought of her for the positive. 

 

It helps to ease some of Nicole’s tension, too. Because she had the impression that Nedley was different to the other Sheriffs she’s come across in her time from their previous communication, but she was prepared for a different picture in reality. However, Nedley is, thankfully, by all accounts so far, the same person she thought he was. 

 

“Now,” Nedley grumbles as he starts rummaging through his things, taking Nicole out of her head. “Where did I put that damn badge?”

 

He swears Nicole in shortly thereafter. He pins the shiny new deputy badge to her chest, and it’s one of the proudest moments of her entire damn life. 

 

“I’m glad you’re here, Haught,” Nedley offers quietly, stepping away from her with his hands on his hips. “I might have taken a leap giving you the job, but you made one takin’ it, too. I won’t forget that in a hurry.”

 

Nicole softens at that, and normally she’s so careful to school her face around the people, the  _ men _ , in positions of authority around her, but she wants Nedley to see that this means as much to her as she thinks it does to him, too. 

 

“Neither will I, sir,” Nicole replies before she clears her throat and changes the subject. “Now, what else do I need to know about this town?”

  
  


-

  
  


Nedley sends her off on a visibility patrol after he introduces her to his other three deputies, with a handful of what constitutes a case file on the comings and goings of interest to the local law. 

 

There’s nothing much of great note, a few long-running disputes between families, a summary of the last gang activity that pertained to Ward Earp’s death, a few strange animal attacks over the last few years, but nothing that makes Nicole overly concerned. 

 

It’s sometime in the late afternoon when Nicole makes her way back into town after riding out on patrol with one of the other deputies that she notices one of the shops on the Main Street closed, and it makes her think of one of the comments the other deputies had made earlier about it being shut when they’d been past it in the morning, too. 

 

She makes a mental note to ask them about it in the morning, or to call in herself and make sure everything’s alright on the way past, before she turns her eye to the white washboard of Waverly’s storefront. 

 

She’s had a reasonably busy first day of duty, so this is the first time she’s been able to shift her attention fully back to Waverly. She’s far enough away that Waverly hasn’t seen her yet, absorbed as she is with the customer, an older woman, that she’s speaking to. 

 

She gestures softly, her hands delicate and animated before she pulls something off of the shelf behind her and drops it into a small brown paper bag. Nicole watches as she waves the woman off, refusing to take her money, and the woman leaves slowly, hobbling heavily out the door. 

 

Waverly watches the older woman leave, her eyes following her out of the shop before they run up the length of the distance between her and Nicole, and their gazes  _ catch _ . 

 

And Nicole knows she needs to be careful, but it’s immensely difficult to tell her heart not to get carried away when Waverly’s whole frame  _ lifts _ at seeing her. 

 

The soft brown of Waverly’s hair that turns to gold when the sun glances off it prompts Nicole’s memory, and she realises, mentally admonishing herself, that she’d gotten completely distracted in the morning when she realised she’d left her bandana at the Inn, and she’d forgotten to ask Waverly the question she’d been nervously tossing between her palms. 

 

She wants to ask Waverly on a date, well a kind of date, as much as they can have a date in a time where they have to be exceedingly careful about how they present to other people. About what their relationship looks like to people watching them.

 

Because, while they might not be stoned in the street if the true nature of their bond, whatever that is destined to be, is found out, their reception won’t be much friendlier. 

 

Nicole refuses to believe it’s wrong, though, or unnatural. She refuses. Despite what society seems hell-bent on telling her. 

 

Because she’s  _ had _ soft skin beneath her hands and her mouth, and the way that felt, how  _ right _ it rung through her body, she knows there’s no  _ way _ that it could be truly wrong. 

 

She knows that there might be a time a long way in the distance where things like this don’t have to be hidden, but she’s not naïve enough to think they don’t have to be practised in what they present. Not if she wants the people of this town to respect her or the badge on her chest. 

 

Irrespective of other people’s closed- mindedness, of their hate, Nicole wants to ask Waverly on a  _ date _ date, and she’s reasonably sure, based on the evidence she’s been presented with so far, that Waverly is interested, but she’s not  _ certain _ . 

 

Nicole knows it’s bold, and she knows it’s risky, and she knows she needs to ask the question carefully, because while it’s important she makes it clear what her purpose is, and where she stands, she doesn’t want Waverly to feel like she’s in any way obliged to agree unless it’s what she wants, too. Or at least it’s what she  _ thinks _ she wants. 

 

Because Nicole will wait, she’ll wait until Waverly is ready if she’s interested, but she can’t pursue somebody that has no desire to be pursued by her. 

 

She can’t bear to have her heart broken. Not again. 

 

She’ll be Waverly’s friend, if that’s all she wants, or if that’s all she wants while she waits to see if anything develops further, but she doesn’t want to torture herself, or Waverly, by not calling this pull she feels between the two of them what it is or what it could be. 

 

Attraction. Hope. Maybe even love. 

 

She’s been back and forth, between Waverly’s attention being strictly friendly or being  _ more _ , but she’s not interacting with Nicole the way she’s seen Waverly interact with others. She’s not interacting with Nicole the way Nicole interacts with Chrissy. 

 

She had made Nicole a gift, spent however long last night, by candlelight, stitching Nicole’s initials into the bandana around her neck. She had asked Nicole to call on her, and her whole body changes when they see each other. 

 

That has to mean something. 

 

She comes back to herself, to the sight of Waverly glowing like an angel in the late afternoon sun in Nicole’s direction,  _ at _ Nicole, and that makes her mind up for her. 

 

She drops her head to hide her own blush before making her way across the street, tipping her hat into her hands as she walks through the door. 

 

“Afternoon, Deputy,” Waverly says warmly, and Nicole can feel the genuine pleasure in her voice. “That’s a mighty dashing badge you’ve got there. I take it this morning went well?”

 

“It did, ma’am,” Nicole replies with a smile, and she mirrors the expression when Waverly’s nose wrinkles at the formal term. “I think it must’ve been your good luck charm.”

 

Waverly’s face softens from excitement to something warmer before she reaches over the counter to run her fingers over the edges of the metal, temperate against the heat of Nicole’s body and the sun outside. 

 

“I’m glad I could help,” Waverly says airily, as though not completely in control of her own coherency, before she snaps out of it. “I’m sorry, Deputy, that was awful familiar of me.”

 

She moves to take her hand away, but Nicole catches it before she can, holding it gently against the metal. 

 

“It’s okay, Waverly,” Nicole says quietly before she looks to Waverly and tries to breathe into the connection of their skin just how very okay it is. 

 

She hazards a glance down the far end of the counter where a couple of older women are engrossed in their own conversation before she judges it safe to hold their contact, and returns her attention to Waverly. 

 

“You can be as familiar as you like with me, okay?”

 

“I can?” Waverly asks with a voice barely above a whisper, like giving more volume to the thought will make it turn to smoke between them. 

 

“You can,” Nicole affirms as her smile widens, and she runs her thumb over the top of Waverly’s hand. “You absolutely can.”

 

Waverly’s gaze is a little glassy, and Nicole can tell she’s somewhere else, far away in a land where she can do whatever it is she’s dreaming about doing to Nicole, or with Nicole, without fear of reprisal. 

 

And she can’t admit she’s not half there herself. That she isn’t thinking about what it would be like to draw Waverly to her, to press their lips together before she laid Waverly back on the countertop and….

 

“I wanted to ask you something,” Nicole says in an attempt to bring herself back to the solidity of this world. Because it doesn’t do to dream about things like that if there’s no hope in them maybe one day coming to fruition. “I left without sayin’ it earlier, and I’m sorry…”

 

“Yes,” Waverly replies before Nicole can actually form her question. Her eyes are eager, and they keep dropping from Nicole’s own to her lips, and it makes Nicole’s heart trip. “Whatever your question is, yes.”

 

“Careful now,” Nicole says playfully, showing her canine’s on a slightly dangerous smile. “I could be askin’ you to commit treason, for all you know.”

 

She gives Waverly’s hand one last gentle squeeze before her own falls away, and she doesn’t want to, but they’ve probably pushed it enough for one afternoon, risking the women glancing down and seeing them. 

 

“It wouldn’t matter,” Waverly replies with a similarly dangerous tone to her own voice

 

The recklessness in it isn’t something Nicole’s seen from Waverly before, but it doesn’t dissuade her, it makes the hunger in the tips of her fingers louder. 

 

“Have dinner with me,” Nicole says while her nerve holds, and she hates that it falls so quickly and without any sort of build up, but she doesn’t think it would have mattered, because Waverly’s smile looks set to eclipse the sun. “I mean, god, let me try that again. Waverly, I wish to-”

 

“Yes,” Waverly replies as she catches Nicole’s hand boldly in her own before it touches the counter top. “Yes,  _ Nicole _ . Yes.”

 

“Yes?” Nicole asks, her heart beginning to pound in her chest, a large part of her struggling to register Waverly’s easy acceptance of her invite. “You know I mean…”

 

“I know,” Waverly returns astutely. The maturity in her voice outstrips the youth of her body, and Nicole can’t  _ not _ think of the reason why. “My answer is still yes.”

 

She’s speechless. Honest to goodness speechless, because she was expecting to have to give Waverly some sort of explanation or hurried apology, but it isn’t needed. 

 

Because Waverly said  _ yes _ . 

 

“I know it would be foolish to go out, but I thought maybe we could take some food from Gus,” Nicole says a little bashfully as she softens, because Waverly said  _ yes _ . “And we could eat above your shop? I’d have you to my room, but I think that’s likely to raise more eyebrows, and…”

 

“Yes,” Waverly says again, and the confidence has retreated and given way to shyness now. “I mean, I have a bed up there, but we don’t…dinner would be…”

 

She shakes her head as though trying to throw the nervousness from her shoulders, and it only makes Nicole fall further, because,  _ god, _ she’s adorable. 

 

“I’m not suggestin’ anything untoward, you have my word,” Nicole replies, winking playfully. “I just…I mean, if you’ll allow it… I’d like to get to know you, Waverly Earp.”

 

_ I’d like to get to know you, and fall in love with you, too, if that’s not too much trouble.  _

 

“I’d like that very much,” Waverly says quietly, and Nicole has the distinct impression that this is the first time anyone has said anything of the sort to her. “And I’d like to get to know you, too, if you’ll permit.”

 

_ You can have everything, _ Nicole thinks as her heart opens and cracks.  _ You can have everything you want that I can give. You can have my breath, too, seeings as you seem to have stolen that anyway. _

 

“I’d like that very much, too,” Nicole replies, her hands hopeful and full with Waverly holding them still. 

 

They feel tethered together in the moment, their bodies suspended in some kind of halted time and space, and Nicole has absolutely no idea how she’s going to pull away from Waverly when it feels like their hands are fused where they touch, but then the moment is broken for them. 

 

One of the women down the other end of the bar knocks her cup gracelessly off the counter and drops to her knees in a flutter as she tries to collect the broken pieces, and both of their gazes avert immediately. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Waverly offers as she moves to take her hands away, but she pauses, like she can’t bear to complete the movement herself. “I should…”

 

“It’s okay,” Nicole says easily, because it is. Because Waverly said  _ yes _ . “I’ll call on you later, if you’re still here. I should get goin’, anyway.”

 

“Later?” Waverly asks as her fingers slip through Nicole’s. 

 

“Later,” Nicole affirms with a quick wink before she spins away from the counter, collecting her hat smoothly.

 

Waverly looks back at her twice within the distance from Nicole to the fuss at the end of the room, and Nicole feels something lift within her, a weight chained to her wrists for years. 

 

Nicole knows it’s not that easy. She knows she can’t take that to mean Waverly is truly interested. 

 

That she knows what Nicole  _ means _ , but it’s a start. 

 

She’ll tell Waverly properly, when they’re alone. When she can practise her speech a thousand times, she’ll do this properly, she’ll tell Waverly her intentions, but for now, they have  _ later _ . 

 

For now, she feels  _ free _ . 

  
  


-

  
  


Nicole still has a smile the length of the Great Divide when she walks away from Waverly’s store with the promise of  _ later _ warm between her palms. 

 

And she knows it’s foolish, to be this taken by a girl she’s barely known two days, but Waverly Earp is  _ different _ . 

 

Refreshingly,  _ beautifully _ , different.

 

Distractedly, Nicole wonders what the swiftest length of time anyone has actually fallen in love is. 

 

She moves out into the fading heat of the day with that thought buoying her steps, settling her hat back on her head as she takes a step onto the dirt of the Main Street. 

 

She sets a slow, easy pace as she makes her way down the street, tipping her hat to a few people, introducing herself to a few others she has yet to meet, before a scuffle a little way ahead of her catches her attention. 

 

A woman, quite striking to look at, with brown hair loose around her shoulders, wearing an outfit not dissimilar to Nicole’s - woolen trousers, a shirt, vest, and overcoat - is standing in the middle of the street, quite oblivious to passersby as she argues at full volume with a man that keeps snatching a wrapped brown parcel out of her hands. 

 

It looks, at first sight, to be some sort of domestic dispute between a man and his wife, but as Nicole gets a little closer, she takes stock of the bend of the woman’s body, and the way she holds herself upright. 

 

She’s defiant, but like she’s trying to protect herself, like she knows no one else is going to come to her aid. And there’s no familiarity of touch between them either; not that Nicole can see, anyway. 

 

“Afternoon, all,” Nicole says cordially as she walks up to the two of them, who cease arguing immediately when they catch sight of the badge gleaming on the breast of her waistcoat. “Can I be of service in settling whatever is important enough to be hollerin’ down Main Street for?”

 

She can see the man eye her with a hint of displeasure as he weighs up in his head whether it’s worth challenging her, which she knows he wouldn’t dare if she was a man, but the mark of respect the badge holds does its job in keeping his mouth shut. 

 

On  _ that _ at least. 

 

“You’re Nedley’s new woman deputy?” the man says a little derisively as he eyes Nicole up and down, and it’s  _ just _ distasteful enough that she straightens herself to her full height so she can level eyes with him. 

 

“The one and only,” Nicole answers, holding her hand out to the man. “Nicole Haught, sir. Pleasure to meet you. And you are….?”

 

“Pissed to high hell,” the man replies, avoiding her question neatly as he holds his hand to his own side, refusing to shake Nicole’s. 

 

“And what does that have to do with this young woman?” Nicole asks the both of them as she turns her head and takes a measure of the brunette with them. “Someone gonna’ tell me what’s going on? Or do I have to ask someone else?”

 

She’s angry, Nicole notes, and she’s showing it, which is reasonably uncommon for women of their time. She’s not just angry, though, she’s furious, and as soon as the man lets his guard down, she reaches forward and grabs the package back out of his hands. 

 

“See,” the man exclaims angrily. “You saw that, Deputy. She’s takin’ things that ain’t hers. Just like usual.”

 

“They’re mine,” the brunette seethes back at him, holding the package close to her chest. “I damn well paid for them.”

 

Nicole’s watching her carefully, trying to evaluate what she can from a first impression, but she’s watching Nicole, too, slightly interested, and with significantly less animosity than she’s watching the man. 

 

“Is that true?” Nicole asks with a raised eyebrow as she looks to the man again. 

 

“Well, yeah,” he answers reluctantly, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably. “But I didn’t want to sell them to her. This young idiot did. We don’t sell to Earps here.”

 

He says the name with as much contempt as he can muster, and in an instant, Nicole understands exactly what Chrissy had been trying to tell her yesterday. 

 

She can see the woman -  _ Wynonna, _ she corrects herself,  _ Wynonna _ \- bend her shoulders forward like she’s expecting that to be the end of the argument now that Nicole knows what her last name is. 

 

But Nicole’s not like that. 

 

Nicole  _ meant _ it when she’d told Chrissy that nonsense didn’t matter to her, irrespective and not at all influenced by the reasonably-sized crush she’s currently nurturing over Wynonna’s younger sister. 

 

She can see the man take a half-step back as well, like the cat that got the cream, now that he considers the argument won with his little trump card. 

 

And it’s not that she takes  _ pleasure _ in what happens next, exactly, but she won’t deny later that it isn’t satisfying. 

 

“Seems to me that if Miss Earp paid for the goods, they’re hers,” Nicole says simply, but in a tone that brokers no arguments. 

 

She watches as a ruddy colour rises up the man's face, and hot anger sets between his eyes when it becomes clear to him that Nicole isn’t going to take his side, surname or no. A slightly surprised and amused expression makes its way across Wynonna’s face at exactly the same rate. 

 

She rests both of her hands on her belt, bringing attention to the pistol at her waist as a gentle, but clear warning of who  _ she _ is, should the man decide to challenge her. 

 

But he doesn’t, thankfully. He stands down. 

 

“Goddamn women,” he says, looking between them both before setting his glare on Wynonna. “You might have that flaming package, but don’t think we’re gonna’ sell to you ever again. You hear me?”

 

“Loud and clear,” Wynonna replies in a similarly angry tone before they both watch the man stomp off. 

 

“Real gentleman, huh?” Nicole says under her breath as they watch him storm back into his shop with a wind of anger beneath his wings. “I hope that’s not a true sampling of all the men in town.”

 

“How come, Deputy?” Wynonna asks with an amused expression. “You huntin’ for a husband to warm your lonely bed at night?”

 

“No,” Nicole says evenly as she levels Wynonna with a glare of her own, because damn, she’d just helped the woman out of an argument, and this is the thanks she gets. “Not at all.”

 

There’s enough finality in her voice that, combined with her obvious career choice, lights a candle behind Wynonna’s eyes. 

 

_ Damn it, Haught _ , she thinks to herself.  _ Here you go more or less exposing who you are to everyone in town before your first week is out.  _

 

She’s expecting Wynonna to pull away with a glare then, or some equally derogatory comment to leave her mouth, but it doesn’t. She smiles a little wryly at Nicole before she holds her hand out as a greeting. 

 

“I don’t think that asshole gave me the opportunity to introduce myself properly,” Wynonna says as she straightens her back. “But I suppose I don’t need to bother doin’ it again, do I?”

 

“I suppose not,” Nicole replies with a slightly amused grin. “It’s a pleasure, Miss Earp. I don’t suppose I need to bother reintroducin’ myself, either?”

 

“Not really,” Wynonna returns, and she’s still grinning like she knows something Nicole doesn’t. “I mean, I hear the town’s half buzzin’ with the news of a newcomer - we don’t get them often, you know. Wasn’t them I heard of your arrival from, though. My sister told me you’d come into town.”

 

“Oh,” Nicole says a little airily, the thought of Waverly taking her attention for a moment. “Of course. I’m sorry, I thought…I didn’t think you would’ve had a chance to speak with her.”

 

“I’ve been in town for a few hours,” Wynonna says as she frowns. “I hate this goddamn place, but I had to come and get another trap for the coyotes that are crawlin’ all over the place at the moment. I normally try and get in and out before anyone else is awake, but I stopped by to see Waverly, and I guess we got to talking for longer than usual.”

 

Nicole wants to ask what about, but from the slightly smug look on Wynonna’s face, she thinks she already knows. 

 

“That’s kind,” Nicole replies with a soft smile as she thinks of Waverly again. “I’m sure your sister appreciated the visitor.”

 

“She told me about you trying to throw that cucklehead Hardy out the door,” Wynonna says, grinning like the point is exceptionally amusing. 

 

“I wasn’t tryin’ to butt in,” Nicole says apologetically before Wynonna can accuse her of anything, but the expression on her face says that isn’t her intention at all. “I promise, it just…he wasn’t taking no for an answer, and your sister looked like she was fed up with the guy, and-”

 

“Haught,” Wynonna cuts across her gently. “It’s okay. I’m trying to say thank you. I can count the people willing to stand up for my sister on one hand.”

 

“Oh,” Nicole replies quietly. “You’re…of course. I mean, I don’t really know her yet, but I know enough to judge that she’s someone worth standin’ up for. Even if this town doesn’t agree.”

 

“She’s a special kid,” Wynonna says with a fondness that she tries to pass off with a rough clearing of her throat, but Nicole sees through it with a grin. “She means a lot to me, so people that are willing to do that for her without knowing her... They’re alright by me.”

 

“That’s a fine thing to say,” Nicole returns with a slight thickness in her throat. 

 

“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it,” Wynonna says with an upturn at the edge of her lip as she scuffs her toe in the dirt. “Can’t have no one thinking I’m more of a damn  _ woman _ than they already think now, can I?”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole nods back, trying to temper down her smile. “Anyway, I’d best leave you to make your way out of town if you’d like. I don’t want to keep you.”

 

“Yeah,” Wynonna replies as she holds her hand to her eyes so she can do a quick sweep of the street. “The sooner the better. As soon as a few upstanding citizens have a drink or two under their belt, I’m an open target, deputy at my back or no.”

 

She inclines her head before she starts to walk away, so Nicole has to call her parting sentiment out for her to hear. 

 

“I’m sorry for that, Wynonna. For what it’s worth, you’ve got an ally in me. You and your sister, both.” 

 

She doesn’t turn around for a moment, and Nicole’s not sure if she’s ignoring her or she simply didn’t hear, but she turns just before the moves completely out of earshot. 

 

“I appreciate it, Deputy,” Wynonna calls from a distance. “And thank you, for before.”

 

“You’re welcome, Miss Earp,” Nicole returns with a smile as she turns her own feet in the other direction. “And don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul.”

  
  


-

  
  


She’s reasonably pleased with how her first meeting with Wynonna goes, because she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t one of the few things she was eager to get over and done with. 

 

Figures like Wynonna in a small town like this have connections, even if they’re not everyone’s favourite daughter, and that’s without the added complication of her being Waverly’s older sister. 

 

She’s been a little anxious about what the older Earp was going to make of her ever since Chrissy had given her a clipped version of the town's history, anxiety that’s only been heightened by Waverly’s reciprocated interest in her and her acceptance of Nicole’s invite to sup together tomorrow evening. 

 

She’s glad the meeting is over and done with, and she’s even gladder knowing she has, hopefully, come across as the kind of person Wynonna would approve Waverly spending time with. 

 

That’s not all she thinks about, though, as she walks down the street toward the jail with pockets heavy full of promise and the way Waverly’s smile bends in the late afternoon sun. 

 

The shop that had been shut earlier is still boarded up when Nicole makes her way past it, and she surmises that they perhaps decided to stay inside, away nursing a pounding head and a rolling stomach. 

 

Everything else seems fine to her eye, though, no broken windows or a spot out of place, so she shrugs and makes her way a little further to seek out Nedley and give him a quick recount of her run in with Wynonna. 

 

The jail is quiet when she walks in. One of the other deputies is sitting, talking quietly to the Sheriff when Nicole tips her hat off into her hands and bids them a good evening. 

 

“Haught,” Nedley says with a small smile as he gestures her over to where the two of them are seated. “You’ve got a visitor.” 

 

“Afternoon, sir,” Nicole replies, confused, frowning at him. “A visitor?” 

 

“A visitor,” he says as he inclines his head towards the room designated as his private office.

 

She searches his face for any hint of teasing or unkindness, finding none, before she takes a step in the direction he’s looking towards. 

 

It can’t be family, Nicole thinks to herself, because that would require some small miracle of forgiveness, and Waverly was still at the shop when Nicole had glanced back and followed Wynonna, walking in that direction.

 

She doesn’t  _ have _ any other friends except…

 

“Afternoon, Deputy,” Chrissy says warmly, walking out of her father’s office, smiling as she glances at the badge on Nicole’s chest.

 

“Chrissy,” Nicole replies brightly, accepting the embrace the shorter woman offers her. 

 

It’s strange, Nicole thinks. She’s been in Purgatory just a full day now, and already it feels like she’s known Chrissy and Waverly for much, much longer. 

 

“Did you come to see your father?” Nicole asks when they part. 

 

“I can see him any old day,” Chrissy returns with a playfully dismissive wave of her hand. “I wanted to see how you were settlin’ in. And to make sure this lot were lookin’ after you.”

 

“We’ve been just fine,” the deputy sitting with Nedley tries to argue with a frown. “Haven’t we, Haught? Chrissy wouldn’t believe us. Said she had to make sure you were okay her damn self.”

 

“They’ve been swell,” Nicole says, smiling at the anguish in the other deputy’s face, and she realises how much Chrissy’s seal approval means to her father’s men. “At ease, soldier.”

 

“I’m glad to hear it,” Chrissy replies fondly as she links her arm through Nicole’s. “Unless you have anythin’ you want to talk to Daddy about, he said I can steal you for the rest of the afternoon. I thought you’d like to go and check on Lady Jane.”

 

It’s only a small gesture, and it’s so common for women of the time to be affectionate in that small way, but it means so much  _ more _ for Nicole. 

 

Because Chrissy knows how she feels about the fairer sex, and normally that’s enough for young women to pin as many crosses to their clothes as they can when they get a hint of it, and give her a wide berth, but Chrissy is  _ different _ . She’s showing Nicole that it’s okay, that  _ that _ won’t scare her away. 

 

She gives Chrissy’s arm a gentle squeeze of thanks before turning to her father. 

 

“I don’t want to put you out, Sheriff,” Nicole offers as she looks between father and daughter, trying to make it clear that she’s not looking for a way to skive off early. “I’ll run an extra shift, or take someone’s night shift this week, but I’d hate for Chrissy to have come this way for nothing.”

 

“Get out of here, Haught,” Nedley replies, waving his hand at the both of them. “You’ve already worked a fuller day than the rest of us. See you in the morning.”

 

“Thanks, Daddy,” Chrissy exclaims, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek and slipping her hand into Nicole’s, dragging her bodily from the room before Nedley can change his mind.  

 

“I’ll make sure she’s back before you ride home,” Nicole throws in Nedley’s direction before Chrissy pulls her onto the street. 

 

The other woman is beaming at Nicole as she slips her hand beneath Nicole’s once more and they make their way towards the stables. 

 

“You’re trouble,” Nicole says, giving Chrissy a sideways look that says as much. “You know that, right?”

 

“Sure do,” Chrissy answers proudly. “And so does Daddy, so don’t worry. I think he’s just pleased I’ve found another friend. It’s not easy to do when the Sheriff’s your father, unfortunately.”

 

“You have Waverly, though, right?” Nicole asks as she squints against the low sun, and looks down to Chrissy. 

 

“Yeah,” Chrissy replies with a fondness in her voice. “I surely do. A friend I don’t think I’ll see the likes of again, truth be told.”

 

“Miss Nedley,” Nicole says, mock dramatically. “You  _ wound _ me.”

 

“Hush,” Chrissy says, swatting at Nicole’s arm playfully. “You know what I mean. Besides, you’ve got a good deal of catching up to do if you want to come close to Waverly Earp.”

 

“I’m sure I do,” Nicole says fondly, allowing her mind to wander a little. To imagine what Waverly’s hand would feel like tucked into the crook of her arm. 

 

They approach the stables reasonably quickly, it’s not a great distance from the jail, and Chrissy makes a beeline for the stalls while Nicole has a quick look for Mattie. 

 

She can’t see her after a quick scout around the main house, so she heads to the stables to find Chrissy and Lady Jane. 

 

“She really is beautiful,” Chrissy says, fawning over the animal, running her hand down the horse's neck as it walks to the front of the stall towards Chrissy’s soft attention. 

 

“Careful,” Nicole teases, pretending to put her hands over the horse's ears. “She’s terribly full of herself as it is, she doesn’t need that ego of hers to get any bigger.” 

 

“Your Mama is mean to you, huh?” Chrissy coos as she scratches between Lady Jane’s eyes. “Maybe you should come live with me instead.”

 

“If you were closer to town, I’d be more than happy to board her with you,” Nicole replies, pulling a few treats from her satchel to feed the animal with. 

 

“I know,” Chrissy says, looking across to Nicole. “I was just teasing. She’s just so beautiful. Where did she come from? A breeder?”

 

“No,” Nicole answers with a shake of her head. “Not at all. A mean old bastard I arrested when I first started this job had her chained to a tree in the sun all day as a foal, and when we threw him in lockup for somethin’ different, my old Sheriff took her with us and gave her to me to celebrate us nailing the guy.”

 

“How could anyone be cruel to you, Lady J?” Chrissy says sadly as she takes a treat from Nicole's hand and offers it to the horse. 

 

“She’s had a much finer time of it since she’s been with me,” Nicole offers kindly. “Haven’t you, girl?”

 

Lady Jane winnies in agreement before the two women laugh softly. 

 

“I bet she has,” Chrissy affirms, stepping back from the stall for a moment to look at Nicole casually. “ _ So _ , I spoke to Waverly this morning.” 

 

“You did?” Nicole asks nervously, slightly anxious at whatever Chrissy is going to chase that comment with. 

 

“I did,” Chrissy says, turning back to Lady Jane so Nicole can’t read her expression. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her smile so much, and that girl smiles like she’s being paid for it.”

 

The sigh of relief rattles Nicole’s whole body, and she has to suppress the urge to put her hand on her chest to still her beating heart. 

 

“Really?” Nicole asks hopefully, and she knows she should hide a little bit of her curiosity, but honestly, she’s so happy that she can’t. 

 

“Really,” Chrissy smiles back to her. “I mean, it could be coincidence of course, but I think not, when the only thing she could talk about was  _ Nicole this _ and  _ Nicole that _ .”

 

“Oh,” Nicole breathes as she drops her head to hide her blush with the brim of her hat. “Well…”

 

“It’s alright, Nicole,” Chrissy says calmly, placing her hand on Nicole’s tanned and freckled forearm. “I think it’s sweet. And it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Waverly that happy. I mean, she smiles often, but they’re never deep enough that I know she’s smiling for herself, too, and not just someone else’s benefit. But she was happy. She was really happy.”

 

“I’m glad,” Nicole replies, exhaling slowly in an attempt to calm herself a little. “She should be happy regardless, but…”

 

“If you’re the reason, that’s not so bad either?” Chrissy finishes for her. 

 

“Somethin’ like that,” Nicole says shyly as she busies her hands brushing the hair back from Lady Jane’s eyes. 

 

“She said she was planning on havin’ you around for supper soon?” Chrissy says, and honestly, Nicole’s a little surprised at Waverly having mentioned that, but it makes her more comfortable knowing Waverly feels safe enough disclosing things like that to Chrissy. 

 

“You know you can talk about her to me, right?” Chrissy prompts when Nicole hasn’t said anything after a moment. “I mean, if you don’t want to that’s fine, of course it is, I just mean…  it’s safe for you to. If you want.”

 

“You’re sure?” Nicole asks hesitantly as her movements still. “I know most people… I know they think it’s…”

 

“Of course you can,” Chrissy offers softly. “And I don’t give a damn what people think, alright? If you make each other happy, I don’t see a damn problem, man or woman.”

 

“Thank you, Chrissy,” Nicole replies, feeling her throat thicken a little, because it’s rare, this, finding someone so easily accepting. “Truly, thank you.”

 

“It’s my pleasure, Deputy Haught,” Chrissy says genuinely before she reaches for Nicole’s hand. “Thank you for your friendship. It’s rare, findin’ someone our age who’s not taken with boys or children. You’re a bit of gold in the bottom of a pan, that’s for sure.”

 

Nicole’s not sure how to reply to a compliment like that. Come to think of it, she’s not sure she’s had one as kind in her life, so she nods instead, touching her other hand over Chrissy’s by way of a thank you. 

 

“Now,” Chrissy says brightly, bringing them back to topic. “What are you going to do for your date?”

  
  


-

  
  


The rest of the afternoon into the early evening passes quickly. 

 

Nicole and Chrissy finish up with Lady Jane, and Nicole escorts Chrissy back to her father before giving Nedley a very brief run through of her meeting with Wynonna, which Nedley seems reasonably pleased with, too. 

 

“Good of you to step in,” Nedley says, nodding his approval. “Most folks would have just left them to it, especially if it was Wynonna. I’m sure she appreciated you steppin’ in, even if she didn’t say so.”

 

“She did actually,” Nicole reveals, and Nedley gives her a look that she recognises as mild amazement. “And it’s no trouble, sir. Just doin’ my job.”

 

“Well, there you have it,” Nedley says as he smiles to himself. “Hell’ll be freezin’ over any day, then, I expect.”

 

He thanks her for bringing Chrissy back to the jail before he sends her off for the evening. 

 

“Oh, Haught,” Nedley throws just as she’s about to walk out the door. “Was there a shop closed on the Main Street when you walked up and down today?”

 

“There was, sir,” Nicole replies, and she’s pleased with herself at having noticed so soon. “It was closed this mornin’, and still boarded up this afternoon. Do you want me to go and see them on my way past?”

 

“No, we'll leave it for the day,” Nedley says with a wave of his hand. “Might be Miss Hunt got carried away with the drink last night and opted for a bit of darkness today. Swing by and check in the morning, though, won’t you?”

 

“Yes, sir,” Nicole replies with a serious look before she nods her farewell. 

 

“One last thing, Nicole,” Nedley says, his voice a little softer than before. “I appreciate you taking to Chrissy like you have. The folk tend to avoid her like she’s my spy or somethin’ idiotic. It means a lot to her to have your friendship. And it means a good deal to me, too. It’s hard without her mother around. I do my best, but I know it gets boring for her with my old bones for company.”

 

“It’s my pleasure, sir,” Nicole returns with a smile. “She’s a wonderful girl. You’ve done a proper job raisin’ her.”

 

The sentimentality is all a bit much for Nedley, who clears his throat and gestures to Nicole that she’s dismissed, which Nicole takes with a respectful nod of her head. 

 

She walks out into the early evening light, breathing in the familiar scent of dirt and fading heat before she sets her hat into place and makes her way back towards the Inn. 

 

Nicole had planned to stop in and see Waverly before retiring properly for the evening, perhaps firm up an evening for their date, but she’s disappointed to see the white shop front boarded up when she walks past. 

 

She wishes she had some way of contacting Waverly, to make sure all was well with her, but short of being able to disappear into thin air, she can’t, and it’s with a slightly heavy heart that she makes her way in through the front door of the Inn. 

 

“Evening, Deputy,” Gus says as she tips the hat off her head and into her hands. 

 

“Evening, ma’am,” Nicole replies before she corrects herself at Gus’s scowl. “Sorry. Evening,  _ Gus _ .”

 

“Much better,” Gus says with a wry smile. “How was your first day?”

 

“Good,” Nicole says, nodding with a weary, but happy smile.  “Really good. And, hey, thank you ever so much for the cookies this morning. They were delicious. The boys enjoyed them, too.”

 

“Yeah, well,” Gus says dismissively, waving her hand. “I had to make ‘em anyway. Might as well wrap a few up for you, too.”

 

They both know it’s utter nonsense, but Nicole doesn’t want to embarrass Gus by pressing it, so she drops it instead. 

 

“Say, you didn’t happen to see Waverly this evening, did you?” Nicole tries to ask as casually as possible. “The shop was shut up on my way past.”

 

“I did,” Gus replies with a slightly knowing smirk. “She dragged Wynonna in here to say goodbye before they rode out to the homestead for the night.”

 

“Oh,” Nicole says, and she tries to keep the disappointment from coming out too strongly in her response. “Oh, well, that’s good. I’m sure Wynonna will appreciate the company tonight.”

 

She turns to take her leave of Gus, planning on poking her nose into the kitchen to have a scrap of something for dinner, when Gus stops her with a gentle hand on Nicole’s arm. 

 

“Hold on a minute there,” Gus says as she holds a small folded note up for Nicole to see. “She said she was sorry she’d miss you this afternoon, and wanted me to pass this on.”

 

“What does it…” Nicole asks before Gus shakes her head. 

 

“I dunno what’s in it,” Gus says with a shrug. “Figured whatever it said or didn’t say was private between the both of you.”

 

Nicole’s world narrows to the small bit of paper in Gus’s hand, and her heart picks up a little, because  _ Waverly thought of her.  _

 

Waverly  _ thought _ of her. 

 

Of her. 

 

Enough to take the time to leave her a note when she knew they wouldn’t see each other that afternoon. To bring it to Gus, and take whatever grief she was likely to cop from Wynonna and Gus, both. 

 

Waverly thought of her. 

 

“Thank you,” Nicole replies, a little distracted, as she reaches for the note when Gus offers it. “Sorry for your trouble. I appreciate you takin’ this for me.”

 

“I ain’t in the service of bein’ nobody's Pony Express,” Gus scowls, but Nicole knows there’s no venom behind it. “But I’ll allow it every now and again. Oh, and don’t you go worryin’ if she’s late into town tomorrow, neither. Wynonna normally makes her rest up when she goes out there, so she won’t be up as early as she normally is.”

 

“Duly noted,” Nicole replies seriously as she nervously thumbs the note, smothering the urge to run up the stairs and read it in the safety and privacy of her room. “Thanks, Gus.”

 

The older woman doesn’t speak straight away, but her words catch Nicole just as she’s about to leave. 

 

“She seemed happy,” Gus says with an intentional vagueness, because they both know exactly who she’s talking about. “She seemed really happy. And I bumped into Chrissy Nedley earlier who said the same thing.”

 

“I’m glad,” Nicole replies with a meaningful nod. “She deserves to be happy.”

 

“Affection that burns quick is often more painful than not havin’ anything at all,” Gus says, and her eyes move over Nicole, watching to see how she reacts. 

 

“I’ve always been a slow fuse kind of girl,” Nicole replies before she decides to change tack and set aside the delicacy and talk to Gus straight. “I have no intention of starting anything I don’t plan on seein’ through to the end, Gus. The very end. The only other thing didn’t end on my word, and it wasn’t on my wish, either.”

 

Gus looks a little taken aback at her directness, and for a second, Nicole’s terrified that she’s gone and shot herself in the foot, before Gus smiles and Nicole  _ breathes _ . 

 

“I’m glad to hear it, Deputy,” is all Gus says before she turns into the small office to the side of the front desk. 

 

_ Well _ , Nicole thinks to herself.  _ That’s a victory, I guess. _

 

The smell emanating from the kitchen tempts her for all of four seconds before her hand closes around the note, and the desire to read it without being overseen takes over completely. 

 

She still has a few strips of jerky and a cookie or two in her satchel, more than enough to fill a stomach accustomed to scraps when she remembers to eat, so she turns tail instead and takes the steps two at a time. 

 

_ It’s ridiculous _ , she thinks to herself, because it’s only likely to be a few friendly lines, but the thought that it’s Waverly that’s written it makes her cheeks ache from smiling. 

 

She shuts the door behind her, slipping the small bolt into the lock before she shrugs her satchel off and falls bodily against the softness of the bed as she unfolds the note. 

 

Waverly’s handwriting is, as expected, as soft and beautiful as Waverly is herself, and Nicole gives into the urge to run her fingers over the letters.

 

_ Nicole, _

 

_ I’m terribly sorry to have left town without saying farewell, but I felt that my sister needed companionship this evening. I sincerely hope your first day went well. If you like, you would be welcome to call on me tomorrow. I’ll look forward to seeing you again soon.  _

 

_ Yours, _

_ Waverly _

 

Nicole’s hands are trembling a little when she lowers the letter to her chest.

 

_ Yours _ , the letter said.  _ Yours, Waverly.  _

 

Yours. 

 

Waverly said  _ yours _ .

 

And Nicole knows it’s just a turn of phrase, that people with no connection or affection write  _ yours _ at the end of a letter, but Waverly isn’t just anyone. Waverly is careful, and Waverly chooses her words as though they cost her to speak sometimes. 

 

She could have written anything, she could have written  _ farewell _ , or  _ until next time _ , or  _ with warm regards _ , but she didn’t. 

 

She said  _ yours _ . 

 

And that means something. 

 

She doesn’t remember falling asleep as the heaviness of the day descends on weary limbs, but she knows when she wakes, when the moon is high, to shrug her heavy day clothes off and crawl back into bed in a light nightshirt, that she’s still holding Waverly’s letter. 

  
  


-


	3. three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! 
> 
> Here's chapter three for you to sink your teeth into. Enjoy! And come say hi on [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) if you'd like once you make your way through this! 
> 
> A massive thanks to @iamthegaysmurf for all her help as always xx

-

  
  


Nicole wakes the following morning feeling different. 

 

It takes her a long time to isolate and identify the emotion, but when she does, she smiles deeper than she has in years, because it’s hope. 

 

She’s alight with hope. 

 

She knows it’s a little dangerous should anyone find it on her person, but it’s probably worse should anyone come across it if they came into her room, so she tucks the note into the pocket of her woolen trousers anyway, because she can’t bear to leave it. 

 

She breezes down the stairs and into the kitchen to pick a handful of pancakes up before she makes her way back to Gus at the front desk. 

 

“Morning, Deputy,” Gus says with a wry smile. “Good sleep?”

 

“The best,” Nicole replies with a grin of her own. “The best I’ve had in years, actually. That’s a damn good bed you’ve got up there. I don’t think I realised last night, as bone-tired as I was, but damn, it’s good.”

 

Gus drops her head and mumbles something under her breath that sounds a lot like,  _ the bed, sure _ , before she looks up to Nicole again. 

 

“You know, Waverly used to say the same thing,” Gus says casually as she looks back down at the register on her desk. 

 

“Waverly?” Nicole asks, lining her forehead with a frown. “When did she…oh, that was her room?”

 

“And they say deputies aren’t clever,” Gus teases. “Yes, that was her room. What did you think she slept on, the floor in ours?”

 

“I don’t know what I thought,” Nicole replies honestly as she looks to Gus. “I’m in her…gosh.”

 

“Thought we’d better give the Sheriff’s new deputy a good room seein’ as you’d be keepin’ the peace and all that. Nothing worse than a grumpy lawman…or woman.”

 

“I appreciate it, Gus,” Nicole says a little airily, and she’s not quite sure why, but it feels special, it feels significant that she’s sleeping in a room, and a bed, that Waverly used to sleep in, too. 

 

“My pleasure, Deputy,” Gus returns in the shadow of Nicole’s appreciation. “They’ll likely not be in town yet, given the sun’s only just up, but Wynonna’ll bring her in shortly. If you’re wantin’ to thank Waverly for her letter.”

 

“Of course,” Nicole gushes. “Of course. I mean I won’t be a bother, but of course I will. Actually, Gus, I was wonderin’ if I might ask you a favour?”

 

“Let me guess,” Gus says with a keen eye. “You’re wantin’ to know if you can have a bundle of food one night soon?”

 

“Uh…” Nicole replies, a little caught off guard. “Yes, I mean…”

 

“Waverly beat you to it,” Gus says by way of an explanation. “I know you know what you’re doin’, Deputy, but Waverly’s soft of heart, as you know. I just don’t want folks to start talkin’, or…”

 

“I know,” Nicole returns seriously. “I understand, ma’am. If Waverly decides she would like my company one evenin’, and you’re okay for us to be unchaperoned, I’ll make sure us bein’ there together is…I mean, that we’re discreet.”

 

“Good,” Gus nods her approval. “Make sure you do, Deputy. I might not be ready to throw a damn Bible at you, but some folks will. And worse, if they find out. The name Earp has enough trouble attached to it, you hear me?”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole says with a solemn nod. “Loud and clear. I’ll be careful, even if…I mean, I don’t know if she’s…” 

 

“Neither do I,” Gus frowns. “But I do know that she’s been more like the carefree child she was before this whole terrible history caught up with her family in the last two days, than I’ve seen in almost two decades. Just…be careful, alright? I know folk in this town seem reasonable sometimes, but I swear they’re like hounds that smell blood when somethin’ goes wrong, too.”

 

“I will be, Gus,” Nicole says clearly, and she locks eyes with the woman who’s spent so many years looking after Waverly in a pit of vipers, because she wants her to know what she’s prepared to do to keep Waverly safe. “I  _ know _ what’s at stake. I’ve lost things before to what’s at stake.”

 

Nicole can see Gus’s eyes narrow in question, but she knows however much she wants to know, that she won’t ask, as bound as they are by damn social convention. 

 

So she turns, checking quickly to make sure they don’t have another set of ears listening in, and answers the question for her. 

 

“It was too hard for her,” Nicole says carefully. “I did everything. I made it safer for us than anyone else could have; people were prepared to ignore it for the most part, because of what I’d done. But it wasn’t enough for her.”

 

She can see Gus taking it in, can see her begin to understand some of the devotion Nicole is capable of bringing to the table, so she nods for Nicole to continue. 

 

“I will do the same for Waverly, if she’s prepared to entertain the idea of havin’ me around,” Nicole says firmly. “I’ll do  _ anything _ for her.”

 

“Have you met Doc, yet?” Gus asks out of the blue, and it leaves Nicole scratching her head a little, because she’s not certain, but she’s pretty sure they’re in the middle of a different conversation. 

 

“I don’t think so,” Nicole says with a frown. “Does he have a practice in town, or…”

 

“He ain’t no doctor,” Gus laughs. “His name’s Doc Holliday. He’s Wynonna’s ranchhand.”

 

“I haven’t; no, ma’am,” Nicole replies, but she’s still trying to work out where the relevance to this side note is. “I don’t…”

 

“He reminds me a good deal of you, Deputy,” Gus says with an intentional vagueness that makes Nicole want to scream or shake the information from Gus’s wiry form. 

 

“Can I ask why?” Nicole asks a little cautiously. 

 

“You’ll understand when you meet him, I think,” Gus replies, smiling to herself. “I will say one thing, though, the phrase  _ blind devotion _ comes to mind.”

 

“Oh,” Nicole says as she understands where Gus is heading with her story. “You mean…are they?”

 

“I don’t think so,” Gus says as she shakes her head. “Although, I know the reluctance isn’t on Doc’s end. He would have married her years ago, if she’d said yes.”

 

“He  _ asked  _ her?” Nicole asks, a little bewildered. “For her hand?”

 

“Even came and sought our permission,” Gus nods in affirmation. “About a month after she came back to town and he started workin’ out there.”

 

“And she said no?” Nicole asks as she tries to piece together the story. “Is she…”

 

“Oh, she’s interested. I know she is. She’s scared, I think,” Gus replies thoughtfully. “Of what happens to the people she loves. She’s afraid to let him close, in case she gets attached and somethin’ terrible happens again.”

 

“You can’t live life like that, though,” Nicole says with a shake of her head. “You can’t refuse to live, just because you’re scared.”

 

“Some do, though, Deputy,” Gus returns sadly. “And sometimes I fear Wynonna might add herself to that number.”

 

“Maybe…” Nicole starts, but she’s not sure how to finish the thought. 

 

Maybe, what? She’ll somehow convince a woman she’s met once to abandon her fear and allow herself to fall in love? She’s not that naive, and she knows the world isn’t that kind. 

 

“The important thing is that she’s happy,” Gus says finally. “That they’re  _ both _ happy. She and Waverly. And anythin’ you can do to help either of them will earn our thanks.”

 

“Doc Holliday, huh?” Nicole asks with a small smile. “He comes into town, surely? I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for him.”

 

“He annoys the heck out of most, me included,” Gus frowns. “But he loves those girls to the end of the world. You’ll have an ally in him, I think. Should you want one.”

 

“The more the better,” Nicole says, sighing heavily. “Thank you, Gus, for this, and…”

 

“Don’t thank me yet, Deputy,” Gus returns with a wry smile. “And don’t forget, you hurt either of them, and I’ll meet you down the barrel, alright?”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole says with a mirrored grin as she nods at Gus’s warning. “I’d expect nothin’ less.”

 

“Good,” Gus replies gruffly before she looks at Nicole, inspecting her with a parental glare. “Now, you best be gettin’ off. Have you got somethin’ to eat? Can’t have you fadin’ away anymore, there’ll be nothing left.”

 

Nicole holds the stack of pancakes by way of explanation, grinning at the fact that Gus cares enough to check up on her like that. 

 

“Make sure you eat ‘em all, you hear me? You won’t be no good to no one if you’re the size of a cricket,” Gus says with a stern tone before her face eases into the faintest smile. “You won’t be no good to Waverly, nor this town, if you’re a husk.”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole laughs in reply before she corrects herself and spins to take her leave. “Gus. Yes,  _ Gus.” _

 

“Better, “ Gus says with a grin. “Away with you, Deputy. Go find some trouble to make peace of.”

 

Nicole makes her way out into the Main Street just as the sun is beginning to rise above the tops of the buildings across the street, and Waverly’s shop is, as anticipated, closed.

 

She’s expecting it, for the front to be boarded up. Not to see Waverly’s beaming smile. And it’s ridiculous, because it’s not as though she’s seen the sight every day for ten years; it’s been two days, but for some reason, it feels like so much longer, and try as she might, she can’t stop the small jolt of disappointment.

 

Nicole misses her. It’s been a day, not even that, and she  _ misses _ her. 

 

_ Get a grip, Haught _ , Nicole says to herself. But it doesn’t do any good, because she doesn’t really want to shake the thought of Waverly, smiling in the dawn light. 

 

She wants to treasure it.

 

She’s got a job to do now, though, and she knows she’ll see Waverly later, because she wrote to her, because she asked Nicole to call on her, so she smiles to herself before she makes her way down the road. 

  
  


-

  
  


She’s covered, head to toe, in dirt.

 

She’s filthy, she’s sore, and she’s furious.

 

Her hands are aflame with rope-burn, and she’s probably covered in bruises beneath her clothes, but at least the last damn cattle beast is safely back in the pen.

 

She snaps the gate shut, throwing her gaze over to the youngest son of one of the farms, just on the outskirts of town, who had come tearing into the jail like the devil had been on his heels. 

 

“Thank you so much, Deputy,” the young man says, his face flushed with embarrassment as he makes his way off the back porch to the pen where Nicole is standing. “I really appreciate you comin’ out to help me. I know it ain’t your job, but Daddy would have hung me from the fence if he’d come back and found them gone.”

 

“No worries, champ,” Nicole says, schooling her face and ridding her brow of a frown, taking stock of the tremble in his shoulders. “And hey, it can be our secret, okay? Just make sure you keep the gate shut next time, alright?” 

 

“Yes, ma’am,” the boy says with a shy smile as Nicole reaches to put her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. “I promise. Are you sure I can’t get you somethin’ to eat before you go?”

 

“That’s kind of you to offer, but it’s probably best if your daddy doesn’t notice the extra helpin’s gone, huh?” Nicole asks kindly, squeezing his arm before she lets her own drop to her side.

 

“Oh,” the boy says, his face falling as he realises what Nicole’s suggesting. “You’re right, Deputy. Lord, what was I thinking?”

 

“Don’t worry about it, kid,” Nicole replies softly, picking her hat up from the table on the porch before she turns to leave. “I got your back. And hey, if your daddy ever gets too heavy-fisted, you’ll come let me know, won’t you?” 

 

“Sure thing,” he replies with another shy smile and a blush clear across his cheeks, and Nicole knows that he likely won’t, but she wants him to know that there’s a safe port if he wants to seek it out. “And, Deputy? Thank you again.”

 

“No worries, kid. It was good fun. Just maybe don’t let ‘em all out at once, next time,” Nicole says with a wide smile, as she tips her hat to him. “I mean it, alright? Anytime you need anything, you know where to find me.”

 

She leaves him with ruffled hair and a slightly less clenched jaw as she makes her way back towards the jail, a billowing trail of dust in the noon sun marking her retreat.

 

“Jesus wept, Haught,” one of the other deputies says as she walks back through the door of the jail. “What the hell happened to you?”

 

“A runaway herd of cattle and one scared little boy,” Nicole says, slumping down in the chair across from him. 

 

“Did you actually get ‘em all?” he asks with an impressed smirk.

 

“‘Course I did,” Nicole replies nonchalantly, giving him a wink. “What kinda deputy would I be if I didn’t?”

 

“I dunno,” he says with a shrug. “One like the rest of us? I mean, it’s not that I don’t try, but there’s a reason I didn’t take on Daddy’s farm.”

 

“Least there’s one person among you lot who can wrangle cattle,” Nedley says with a sly smirk as he walks into the room and looks at Nicole. “Nice work, Haught.” 

 

“Thank you, sir,” Nicole beams in reply. “It was even worth it for the bruises.”

 

“They’ll be a damn sight lighter than whatever would have been on that young man if his father’d come home to find those animals gone,” Nedley says seriously. “It’s a good thing you did.”

 

“Just doin’ my job,” Nicole says with a look that she hopes Nedley registers as  _ I know, I know what would have been waitin’ for him otherwise _ . 

 

“We don’t mind a bit of dust, but if you want to go and change, that’s your choice,” Nedley offers thoughtfully, smiling a little at the dust that comes off of Nicole with every movement, regardless of the fact that she beat almost everything off before she walked through the door. 

 

“The second I get changed, something’ll happen and I’ll be dirty again,” Nicole says ruefully, and they all laugh in agreement. “I might go and hassle Gus for some food, though, if you don’t mind? I’m damn near starvin’ after that.”

 

“‘Course,” Nedley nods to her. “If she’s got any more of those cookies, bring some with you, won’t you?”

 

“I second that,” one of the deputies echoes. 

 

“Third,” the other says with a hand in the air. 

 

“Sure thing,” Nicole smiles in reply before she stands up as carefully as she can so as not to disturb the dust all over again. “See you soon.”

  
  


-

  
  


Nicole  _ is _ hungry, of  _ course _ she is after the morning she’s had, but the main reason she wants to be able to make her way back to the Inn is to see whether Waverly and Wynonna have made it into town yet. 

 

She sets a slow pace as she walks down Main Street, tipping her hat to a few of the people she’s seen every day now, before she walks a little further and falls within eyesight of Waverly’s shop. 

 

Her mouth is as dry as the desert with the half-trough of dust she’s already inhaled this morning, and that’s only made worse when her eyes land on Waverly. 

 

She doesn’t see Nicole right away, but Nicole doesn’t mind, because she’s almost  _ more _ beautiful in profile. 

 

She’s talking animatedly with Chrissy, waving her hands with a soft flourish as she tries to explain something, and Chrissy laughs before she reaches forward and closes her hand over Waverly’s on the counter. 

 

Nicole knows it’s ridiculous, because it’s been a  _ day _ , but she feels like Waverly looks lovelier today than she did yesterday. 

 

She’s wearing a dark blue shirt rolled up over her elbows that Nicole hasn’t seen before, which sets the tan of her forearms off almost lyrically, tucked into her long khaki skirt, with her light brown hair pulled up and away from her face, held with a ribbon the same colour as her shirt. 

 

Almost as though she can feel Nicole thinking about her, she glances up and catches Nicole across the street and her whole body beams. 

 

Her shoulders  _ lift _ and her smile  _ widens _ and she looks as though she might just float away if she wasn’t holding on to Chrissy’s hands. 

 

She loosens one to wave at Nicole, gesturing, almost calling her like a siren's song, to cross the short distance and come to her. 

 

Her feet move without her mind’s permission, but she doesn’t care, she just bows and follows, never taking her eyes from Waverly’s own. 

 

Chrissy observes Waverly’s reaction before she turns and sees Nicole walking towards them, and the expression her face is knowing, as if to say  _ of course that’s why she’s smiling _ . 

 

“Mornin’ ladies,” Nicole says brightly as she takes her place next to Chrissy at the counter, sweeping off her hat and giving Waverly a wink at the same time. 

 

“Good morning, Deputy,” Chrissy replies happily, winding her arm through Nicole’s own, giving it a quick welcome squeeze before she drops her hand to the counter again. 

 

It’s only a small movement, and it’s nothing but platonic, but Nicole watches as Waverly’s eyes flick to the movement briefly, and a minuscule, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it frown crosses her forehead. 

 

Not jealousy, just a  _ slightly _ worried curiosity. 

 

Chrissy misses it completely, turning back to Waverly before she speaks.

 

“We were  _ just _ talkin’ about you, Deputy,” Chrissy says with a smile. “And now, like magic, you’re here.”

 

“Must’ve heard you,” Nicole replies playfully, looking directly to Waverly, in a way she hopes Waverly can read as  _ I only really want to look at you.  _ “Good things, I hope?”

 

“Of course not,” Waverly returns with equal jest, and Nicole sighs in relief. “Only terrible things.”

 

“Even better,” Nicole jokes before her face softens. “How are you this morning? How are you both?”

 

“We’re swell, aren’t we, Wave?” Chrissy says as she tries to prompt Waverly, who seems to have taken to watching Nicole wistfully. 

 

“Huh? Oh, yeah, just swell,” Waverly replies, bringing herself back to reality, and a blush blooms across her cheeks at having been caught staring. “Just swell.”

 

“Waverly was just tellin’ me how you told that grumpy old beast of a man to lay off Wynonna yesterday,” Chrissy says with a slightly impressed tone to her voice. 

 

“Oh,” Nicole returns, a little embarrassed herself. “It was nothin’. He just needed to step back, but it didn’t look like he was going to do it of his own accord.”

 

“It wasn’t, though,” Waverly says with a soft smile. “Nothin’, I mean. It’s very kind of you. Most folks wouldn’t bother to stand up for Wynonna around here. It’s definitely not nothin’.”

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been most people,” Nicole says as the pride in her chest swells at Waverly’s affirmation. “And it’s no trouble. I’m happy to help with things like that. People need to know things don’t have to be the way they’ve always been, just because they’ve always been that way.”

 

She doesn’t mean to slip the double entendre in there, but it’s there regardless, and she thinks both Chrissy and Waverly recognise it.

 

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Chrissy says, smiling at Waverly’s softly concentrated gaze on Nicole. “And how about you, Deputy? You definitely don’t look like you’ve been keepin’ yourself out of trouble.”

 

“Oh,” Nicole replies, glancing down at her dust-heavy outfit. “It’s been interestin’, that’s for sure. Actually, I couldn’t trouble you for a drink could I? It’s been a hell of a morning.”

 

“Oh,” Waverly says suddenly as she sets herself to work. “God, how rude of me. Of course. What would you like?”

 

“Water’s fine,” Nicole smiles at the little flutter Waverly’s set herself in. “I’m really not fussy as long as it’s cold. It doesn’t need to be anythin’ flashy.”

 

“I’ve got a bit of the tea I made yesterday that’s been in the icebox, if that’s alright?” Waverly asks as she makes her way down the counter slightly. 

 

“Yes,  _ please _ ,” Nicole says, lighting up at the prospect of getting another taste of whatever magic Waverly had brewed for them yesterday morning. 

 

“Chris,” Waverly asks the woman as she draws a couple of glasses from beneath the counter. “You want something?”

 

“No, I’m fine. Thanks, though,” Chrissy says, swatting Waverly’s attentiveness away. “So what’s the reason for all the dust? Is this a new beauty regime the rest of us girls haven’t caught on to yet?”

 

“No,” Nicole says with a frown as she looks down at her dirty clothes. “I had to help one of the Jones boys find all his daddy’s damn cows after he’d left the gate open feedin’ them and they’d all gotten out.”

 

“Thank god you did,” Chrissy replies with a relieved sigh. “Their father is one mean man. I’ve seen those boys with black eyes more often than not.”

 

“The Sheriff said as much,” Nicole says as she frowns, more than a little troubled by Chrissy’s comment, but knowing there isn’t a great deal she can do about it. “Truth be told, I would’ve done it for anyone, but I’m grateful we could get them all back.”

 

Waverly gives her reason to pause for a moment, sliding over a cup full of the aromatic drink they had shared yesterday, and she feels her mouth water in anticipation. 

 

“Thank you,” Nicole says, reaching to put her hand briefly over Waverly’s in thanks, and she feels the small resultant jolt echo through them both when they make contact. 

 

It’s hard not to drink it in one long draw, because she’s  _ that _ thirsty and it’s  _ that _ good, but she wants to savour it. Just like the time she’s spending in its creator's presence. 

 

She takes a controlled sip before placing the cup carefully on the countertop, closing her eyes as the light and deliciously refreshing liquid hits the back of her severely parched throat. 

 

“God, that’s good,” Nicole says, not bothering to open her eyes, although she’s glad when she does, because the sight of Waverly Earp with her jaw dangerously low is a sight to see. 

 

She doesn’t say anything at first, she just licks the tip of her thumb delicately as she reaches for Nicole, and Nicole can’t help but bend forward to meet her movement. 

 

For a second, the rest of the world shuts itself away. There’s no Chrissy next to them, there’s no Main Street outside. It’s just her and Waverly, and nothing else. 

 

The pad of Waverly’s thumb brushes across the line of her cheekbone delicately as her mouth falls open, just, and both of them stop breathing. 

 

“You had a little…” Waverly says airily, biting her lip in a way that Nicole has to curl her hands into fists to stop herself from reaching to touch. “Dust…there was a bit of dust…”

 

Nicole knows damn well there isn’t, or wasn’t, because she’d checked her reflection meticulously in the window a few shops down before she’d come within Waverly’s line of sight. 

 

_ It’s an excuse _ , Nicole thinks as her blood  _ jumps _ . It’s an excuse to touch me. She  _ wants _ to touch me. 

 

Waverly’s eyes drop to her mouth and then move back up to her eyes before her tongue swipes over her bottom lip and Nicole feels her knees grow weak. 

 

Chrissy clears her throat next to them, and it’s lucky really, because Nicole’s not sure what else it would have taken to bring them out of their reprieve otherwise. 

 

“I, uh, I think I’ll take my leave of you two young ladies,” Chrissy says with a smile in the tone of her voice. 

 

“Oh,” Waverly replies as her hand falls softly from Nicole’s cheek and she snaps back into the land of the living. “No, don’t go. Surely you don’t have to leave already?”

 

“Piano lesson,” Chrissy says regretfully, which is a fib, because Nicole knows that was the day before last, on her first day here, and Chrissy mentioned they were only once a week. “But I’ll leave you in fine company. Perhaps Nicole could escort you down to the general store?”

 

“Gladly,” Nicole says quickly. “I mean, Nedley gave me leave to get somethin’ to eat, so I’ve got some time.”

 

“Only if you wouldn’t mind?” Waverly asks hopefully. “I’d appreciate the company. Are you sure you have to go, Chrissy?”

 

“Unfortunately, I do,” Chrissy says as she throws Nicole a sly, subtle little look that says  _ you’re welcome  _ before she turns her gaze to Waverly. “But you’ll take good care of her, won’t you, Deputy?”

 

“The best,” Nicole replies with a wink. “If you’ll have me, Miss Earp?”

 

“It would be my pleasure,” Waverly says, and Nicole watches as the pink creeps across her cheeks again. “Would you have time to walk me now?”

 

“Ready when you are,” Nicole obliges. 

 

“Enjoy your outing ladies,” Chrissy says with a wink before she makes her way to the door ahead of the others. “Wave, I’ll call on you later if you’re still here. Otherwise, tomorrow?” 

 

“Sounds perfect,” Waverly says, giving Chrissy a quick wave goodbye before turning to Nicole. “Are you okay to wait for just a second while I go and fetch a few things from upstairs?”

 

“Of course,” Nicole replies easily. “There’s no rush. Take your time.”

 

Waverly flashes her a beautiful smile before she skips down to the other end of the shop where the small staircase leading up to the second floor rises. 

 

She glances back, as though to check that Nicole’s still there, that she hasn’t disappeared or dissipated like some spectre, when she reaches the bottom of the staircase, and Nicole can see her sigh in relief, smiling to herself this time, before she leaps up the stairs lightly. 

 

Nicole’s  _ not _ staring, because she’s chivalrous and not a crazed young buck, she’s watching Waverly’s feet to make sure she doesn’t trip, that’s it, and she just so happens to catch a tanned ankle in the disturbance of skirt that, despite its innocence, feels  _ intimate _ . 

 

She allows herself to get lost in that thought for a moment, because if  _ that _ part of Waverly is  _ that _ deeply sun-kissed, then the other parts now hidden by skirt and the lace of her petticoat, must be just as much so, too. 

 

And the only way they’d be tanned was if she somehow sat somewhere bearing that much skin, and…

 

_ Stop _ , Nicole thinks to herself.  _ She’s a young woman, not the object of your drooling inability to keep your damn desire in check _ . 

 

She tries to shake the thought from her head, focusing instead on the movement of Waverly above her, the floorboards moving under her feet. And it works, for two whole seconds, until Waverly comes down the stairs carefully, holding her skirt and petticoat bunched high in one hand, above her knee, while the other runs smoothly down the bannister so as not to trip. 

 

Which, of course, exposes half of her goddamn leg. 

 

Her jaw actually hits the floor, Nicole’s sure of it, before Waverly moves close enough to her that the sight of her face eclipses all other thought, and Nicole’s eyes settle on Waverly’s own. 

 

“Hi,” Waverly says simply, and the world does that axis-turning-you’re the only other person on this earth-thing, and it’s all Nicole can do to manage a daft  _ hi _ , in return. 

 

“The colour looks beautiful on you,” Nicole replies, gesturing to Waverly’s shirt when she can take a little more air into her lungs. “It looks new?”

 

“I didn’t think anyone would notice,” Waverly says softly, looking down before she replies shyly. “It is, actually. Wynonna had it made for me. It was my birthday last week.”

 

“It was your birthday?” Nicole asks, a hint of regret settling into her fingertips. “I’m sorry I missed it.”

 

“Meeting you was a good belated gift,” Waverly replies with a shy smile. “I would have waited months for that, come to it.”

 

“Lucky you didn’t have to wait at all,” Nicole says, risking a flirty wink in the privacy of Waverly’s empty shop. “I’ll have to make sure I find you an actual gift, though.”

 

“Stop it,” Waverly returns as she bats Nicole lightly on the arm. “You’ll do no such thing. Taking time out of your day to escort me is gift enough.”

 

“I’ll have to make sure I find you an actual gift and not  _ tell _ you until it’s too late to do anythin’ about it,” Nicole corrects with a playful smile. “How is she? Your sister, I mean. Is everything alright?”

 

“She’s fine,” Waverly says with a nod. “She just seemed a little down after her  _ altercation _ yesterday. Thank you for that, by the way, for standin’ up for her. I can’t tell you what it means to me. To us both.”

 

“Of course,” Nicole says kindly. “Of course, but I didn’t do a good job if she was still upset after.”

 

“Oh, it’s not in a way anyone else can tell,” Waverly says, smiling a little ruefully. “She thinks she’s bein’ tough as old leather, puttin’ on a brave face, makin’ folks think things like that don’t affect her.  It’s only because I know her well enough that I notice.”

 

“Still,” Nicole offers with a soft smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t do enough. I should have been tougher on him.”

 

“Nicole,” Waverly says, stopping Nicole in her tracks as she reaches for Nicole’s forearm, her delicate fingers wrapping around the warmth of Nicole’s wrist.

 

It takes every inch of her self-control not to jump or sigh or do anything equally embarrassing, and attempt to retain some composure, because the touch sets every nerve in her body on fire. 

 

“Trust me,” Waverly says and Nicole almost spills,  _ I trust you, I do, I trust you with everything _ , but she manages to keep her mouth shut. “You made a  _ difference _ .”

 

Waverly gives her wrist a soft squeeze, and Nicole fels her entire body  _ throb _ with the small gesture. 

 

“You made a  _ big _ difference,” Waverly says after a moment, once she can see she has Nicole’s attention on her voice, too, and not just their touch. “Normally things like that keep her away from town for weeks, until she’s so desperate for supplies she has to come in, but she rode me right into the shop this morning, when she normally drops me at the edge of the Main Street. So believe me, Nicole. You made a big difference.”

 

“Oh,” Nicole says simply, more than a little touched as she moves her hand to cover Waverly’s. “I’m glad, Waverly. I’m really glad.”

 

“I’m glad you came to town,” Waverly admits, giving Nicole a beautiful little sideways head tilt. “I don’t know if I’ve said that yet, have I?”

 

“I don’t believe so, ma’am,” Nicole says, dropping her head with some small amount of grace. “But might I be so bold as to say that I’m glad I’m here, too?”

 

“You may,” Waverly returns with a warmth that blooms between the two of them. “Because I am, too.”

 

“Miss Earp,” Nicole says as she summons the most diplomatic tone she can. “I fear I have not done this justice before now, but I wonder if you would allow me to remedy that. The first night I met you, I asked whether you might like to spend an evenin’ in my company. I know you might not have been expectin’ me to ask so soon, but would you perhaps like to… one night this week, at your convenience, of course… if you’d consent to acceptin’ a date with me?”

 

“Nicole,” Waverly says, her voice singing in answer this time, not in question. “It would be my pleasure.”

 

“Maybe, the night after next, if that wouldn’t be too great a strain on your nightly activities?” Nicole suggests as her eyes soften, and she waits, with halted breath, to wake up, and for this all to be a dream. 

 

“I believe that will do perfectly,” Waverly says in answer, and Nicole’s breath waits, and waits, and  _ waits… _

 

…but it’s  _ real _ . 

 

It’s not a dream.

 

It’s solidly, dust-riddenly, hope-swimmingly,  _ real _ .

 

They walk out into Main Street, and Nicole holds back, allowing Waverly to walk through the door ahead of her. She waits as Waverly locks the door quickly behind them, before she turns and offers Waverly her arm.  

 

It’s a small gesture, and one she’s done more than a few times with Chrissy now, and other women, too, but when Waverly slips her hand into the crook of Nicole’s elbow, it feels different. 

 

It feels meaningful. 

 

It feels like a beginning. 

 

Like stepping out together, from Waverly’s shop, after agreeing on their first date, it’s the start of the next stage of their lives together. 

 

Waverly’s hand fits in the crook of her elbow perfectly, better than Chrissy’s, better than the women she often escorted around her last town as a favour, so they didn’t need to be escorted by men. 

 

Better even than Shae’s. 

 

Waverly beams, a glow pouring from her skin as she looks up to Nicole and smiles, and that in itself feels like a beginning, too. 

 

“That was a good thing you did,” Waverly says to Nicole as they step out together, and Nicole sets her hat on her head to shade the glare of the high sun. “Helping Elias Jones? I know Chrissy and the Sheriff said, but I’ve had the eldest come and see me quietly, for somethin’ to help with pain from the bruising for the younger ones. I had them come show me, so I knew how strong a remedy to give them, and I was… it was bad. It made me feel sick, Nicole. I told Wynonna, and Doc had a less than gentle word with their father, and that seemed to ease things, but…it was a good thing you did.”

 

“I wish we could do something,” Nicole replies with regret heavy in her hands. “ _ Can _ we do something?”

 

“Doc said he’ll keep an eye on them, to make sure it doesn’t get any worse, but he needs those boys to help on the farm, he can’t do it without them. There’s no way he’ll let them go quietly,” Waverly replies solemnly. “Doc said he had half a mind to go fetch them himself last time, and be damned with the consequences, but Wynonna managed to convince him that they’d likely be labelled kidnappers, as well as murderers, if they did.”

 

“I’ll keep an eye out for them,” Nicole says, nodding and squeezing Waverly’s hand gently in reassurance. “I’ll do what I can, too.”

 

“I know you will,” Waverly says with a sigh, relaxing into Nicole’s side. 

 

Nicole can feel the tension leave the shorter woman’s body at Nicole’s word, and she’s more than a little touched at Waverly’s willingness to put her trust in Nicole so soon. 

 

“Speaking of keeping an eye out for people,” Waverly says casually as her body lines a little with tension again. “Chrissy seems fond of you. She doesn’t normally warm to people so soon, but you seem to be an exception.”

 

Waverly’s much too polite to say what she really wants to ask, whether Nicole is as  _ friendly _ with Chrissy as she is with her, and Nicole wants to kick herself at not separating her affection for the two of them enough, but it’s just that she’s never had to before. 

 

She’s never had a friend as thick and fast as Chrissy has presented herself, so she’s never had to worry. 

 

“You’ll pardon me for assuming, Waverly, but I want you to know there’s no…it’s not the same affection I feel for Chrissy, that I feel for you, too. They’re  _ very _ different,” Nicole says clearly, in a way that in no shape or form can be misconstrued as anything else. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Waverly replies, tugging on Nicole’s arm a little so Nicole will look down at her. “I know…I mean, of course you wouldn’t. I just…I’ve never… I wouldn’t… is it terribly selfish to say I want you all for myself?” 

 

“If it is, I don’t mind so much,” Nicole says with a warm smile. “Might make it a little hard to do my job, but…”

 

“That makes me sound awful. I’m not the jealous type. I think Chrissy makes a wonderful ally and friend,” Waverly says, flushing a deep pink before she lowers her voice so no one outside of the two of them could hear. “I just… don’t want to have to share you… in other ways.”

 

“You’ll never, ever have to,” Nicole says discreetly back, casting an eye around before she does so. “That, I promise you. I’ll be yours and only yours, if that’s what you want, Waverly Earp.”

 

“That’s…thank you,” Waverly sighs in relief. “Thank you, for not thinkin’ I’m some crazy young thing. And for the record, you don’t have to share me, either.”

 

“Speaking of not having to share you,” Nicole mumbles under her breath with an imperceptible growl as Champ Hardy makes his way towards them both from across the street. 

 

“I was just comin’ to look for you,” Champ says, ignoring Nicole completely as he looks to Waverly. “You weren’t there yesterday. How’s a guy supposed to make any headway when his girl isn’t there to greet him?”

 

“I’m not your girl, Champ,” Waverly says evenly, and Nicole can feel her hand tighten around Nicole’s arm. “I don’t have to be anywhere to greet you.”

 

“Well, who else have you got trying to court you?” he asks, as if a lack of other suitors gives him the right to harass her however he likes. “Huh? The  _ deputy _ , here?”

 

Nicole is careful enough to keep her expression neutral, because this isn’t, and it certainly won’t be, the last time someone insinuates something like this to her, but Waverly isn’t so practised, and she must blanch a little, if the mixed look of horror and satisfaction on his face is anything to go by. 

 

“I see,” he says derisively as he eyes Nicole distastefully. “You’re one of  _ them, _ then. Nothing a good man can’t fix, though.”

 

“Watch your mouth,” Nicole says as she slackens her hold on Waverly’s arm slightly so she can take a step towards him. “Miss Earp didn’t say anything of the kind. You’re puttin’ words in her mouth.”

 

“So are you,” Champ replies, taking a step forward before Waverly’s unusually stern voice cuts neatly through the tension. 

 

“Enough,” she says strongly. “ _ Enough _ , Champ. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you no, but I guess it’s one more than I thought. Now leave us to our day, and get out of the way, or I’ll ask the deputy here to kindly do it for you.”

 

Honestly, she’s more than a little impressed at the strength in Waverly’s voice before the voice in her head tells her strictly  _ not _ to be, because Waverly’s not a child. 

 

And she’s probably stood up to just as many assholes as Nicole has, if not more. 

 

“Fine,” Champ replies as he eyes the both of them. “Fine, I’ll leave you be. For now. But I’ll be back, Waverly. Because I know what you need, even if you don’t.”

 

They don’t give him the satisfaction of an answer, and he doesn’t bother to say a proper farewell, pushing past Nicole roughly instead. 

 

“He’s a real peach, isn’t he?” Nicole says through gritted teeth as she turns to watch him walk away, softening a little at Waverly’s calming touch on her arm. 

 

“You get used to it,” Waverly replies with a glower of her own. 

 

“Yeah, but you shouldn’t have to, Waverly,” Nicole sighs, turning to look down at her. “And I’m sorry that you do.”

 

“Let’s not let him ruin a fine day, hmm?” Waverly asks with a light tone as she pulls herself closer to Nicole’s side. “He’s not worth it.”

 

“You’re right,” Nicole says, shaking her head ridding them both of his shadow. “You’re right, let's be done with him. May I ask what you need from the store?”

 

“Just a few little things,” Waverly replies warmly, and Nicole can feel her relax at the change of subject. “I’ve run out of twine, and I could use a few more small glass bottles, too. Do you need anything?”

 

“Nope,” Nicole says easily. “Although, perhaps you could point out to me at the confectionary store what Gus’s favourites are, if you don’t mind us poppin’ in. She’s been awful kind to me, and I wanted to check to make sure the store was open after bein’ closed yesterday.”

 

“Of course,” Waverly replies as she skips a few of her next steps happily. “But don’t let her know where you found out. It wouldn’t do for anyone to know she’s not just a stone creature, if you take my meaning.”

 

“Absolutely,” Nicole says with a mock seriousness that holds for about a second before she smiles at Waverly. “Stone and unfeelin’, check.”

 

A passing gust blows a mouthful of dust straight into Nicole’s lungs and she coughs, covering her mouth with her spare hand before she sighs heavily. 

 

“Damn dust,” she says as she coughs a few more times. “I can hardly wait to get into a bath later. I feel like I’m damn near made of it.”

 

“You must look forward to it,” Waverly offers with a casual smile. “Bein’ able to strip those heavy clothes off, and clean up proper after a long day.”

 

It’s innocent enough, but Waverly’s comment takes Nicole aback. 

 

Because she could mean “clean up” as in wash off the dirt, or she could mean “clean up” as in shrug off her ‘boy’s clothes’ and into something more feminine. 

 

Something more ladylike. 

 

Something she  _ definitely _ doesn’t own. 

 

Is that what she thinks Nicole does? That this is a costume of sorts, something for her day job, but not something she wears all the time? 

 

Because it’s not. 

 

This is her. 

 

This is who she is. 

 

What if that isn’t what Waverly wants, though? What if she wants something different? Something  _ finer _ ? 

 

“I suppose so,” Nicole replies, watching for Waverly’s response, but she doesn’t really give one. Not beyond a sigh as she leans further into Nicole’s side. 

 

Nicole can feel her head spinning, because she knows that Waverly would never say anything to hurt her feelings, which means Waverly just has an automatic expectation that Nicole would wear something less masculine in the evenings. 

 

_ Oh, god. Does this mean she’s expecting something else on our date? _

 

_It’ll be fine_ , the rational part of her mind tells the quickly panicking one. _It’ll be fine._ _If that’s what you need to do, then you’ll do it, because Waverly is the kind of girl you move goddamn mountains for, not get hung up over wearing a flaming dress._

 

She tries to pull the part of her brain barrelling off in another direction back under hand, because she can do that. She can wear a dress for Waverly Earp if she has to. 

 

She just has to  _ find _ one first. 

 

_ Chrissy _ , she thinks suddenly. Thank god for Chrissy, she’ll be able to help. 

 

“Hey,” Waverly says gently as she tugs on Nicole’s arm. “Is everything okay? Did I…”

 

“No,” Nicole replies quickly, because this is her insecurity, not Waverly’s, because the more she thinks of it, of course Waverly would expect her to wear a dress outside of working, because what woman doesn’t? 

 

Only, Nicole isn’t every woman. 

 

“No, you’re perfect,” Nicole says as she turns the charm on in an attempt to reassure Waverly, because the last thing Nicole wants is for her to think Nicole’s interest is waning even one inch. “You’re absolutely perfect.”

 

Waverly  _ lights _ at the compliment, and Nicole has a horrible sinking feeling that it’s because she’s received such a rare few in her life.  _ Best fix that, Haught,  _ she thinks to herself as they make their way across the last few feet to the General Store. 

 

Waverly doesn’t say anything in response, but Nicole can feel the effervescence beneath the soles of her feet as they walk, and that’s all the reply she needs. 

 

They reach the door to the General Store, which Nicole holds open for Waverly, before they both walk through, sighing at the slight relief the shade brings. 

 

“I won’t be long,” Waverly says as she looks to Nicole, already reaching for one of the things on her list. 

 

“It’s fine,” Nicole replies with a smile, quite happy in the domesticity of their task. “Take your time, Waverly. There’s no rush.”

 

She appears to ignore that advice completely before she spins around the store like a quick spring wind, collecting a few glass bottles, and twine, too, which Nicole supposes she uses to hang the bunches of dried herbs from the ceiling like a few of the others she has in the shop, and a couple of other quick things that Nicole doesn’t see. 

 

Nicole watches with a soft amusement before Waverly walks to the counter to pay for everything. She strikes down the urge to offer to pay, because if their closeness since she arrived to town hasn’t struck the owner as odd, Nicole offering to pay certainly will. 

 

She runs her hand over a small bit of ribbon wound around a wooden circle while she waits, before she looks back to Waverly’s hair, and upon seeing the similar length holding her own ponytail up, decides to come back without her and fetch a small length as a gift for their date. 

 

“All done,” Waverly says brightly as she walks towards Nicole with the paper bag containing all of her purchases. “Are you sure you didn’t need anything?”

 

“Certain,” Nicole returns with a smile before she takes the bag from Waverly’s arms and offers Waverly her elbow as they walk out onto the Main Street. “Although, if it’s not too much trouble, I’d still like to call in on the confectionary shop?”

 

“Oh, of course,” Waverly says with an enthusiastic nod of her head. “This is really nice, you know. I never have company on my errands. Wynonna’s far too bull-headed to come and do these things with me. I’ll confess to havin’ a lovely afternoon, even with Champ’s interruption.”

 

“As am I, Miss Earp,” Nicole replies happily, reaching with the hand holding the bottom of Waverly’s bag to give her arm a soft squeeze. “As am I.”

 

“Oh,” Waverly exclaims, pulling them to a stop before she drops her hand into the bag in Nicole's arms. “That reminds me. I know you’ll want a more substantial lunch, and there’s far more indulgent treats at the confectioner’s, but I wanted to say thank you for comin’ with me.”

 

She unwraps a small piece of crystallised fruit and offers it to Nicole with a grin on her face. 

 

“Gus mentioned you had an inclination for anythin’ sweet,” Waverly says with an adorable shyness. “I hope you don’t mind me bein’ presumptuous, and you don’t have to eat it, it’s just…it’s very sweet of you to take me out.”

 

“Sweetness for sweetness, huh?” Nicole says with a subtle wink before she reaches for the treat and tries not to blanch at the way their skin jumps beautifully when her hand brushes Waverly’s. “That’s awful kind of you, Waverly, but really, it’s my pleasure. I’m happy to escort you anytime.”

 

“I know,” Waverly blushes as she drops her head and a few strands of hair fall free from her ribbon. “I just…anythin’ to keep you in my company, I’ll do. Happily.”

 

“There’s no fear of me ever  _ not _ wantin’ to, ma’am,” Nicole says playfully, set on using that term as an endearment when Waverly says anything silly. “Although, I’m not going to tell you to stop plyin’ me with treats, because good  _ lord _ , this is good.”

 

“They are, huh?” Waverly says, pleased by Nicole’s enjoyment. “Wynonna used to buy them for me when I was small as a treat.”

 

“She was a good sister, wasn’t she?” Nicole says warmly before she moves to correct herself. “Not that she isn’t now, I just mean…”

 

“I know what you mean,” Waverly replies with a soft touch to Nicole’s arm. “And she is, she really is. It’s a damn shame this town is set on making her a witch. It means a lot, you know, that you don’t think she is.”

 

“Anyone that has your stamp of approval would be fine by me,” Nicole says kindly, to which Waverly smiles shyly. “I think you’re a good judge of character, Waverly Earp. Even without that, though, I’ve only met her once, but I can see for myself that she’s good. That she has a great deal of it in her, irrespective of what folks here say.”

 

“How on earth did we get so lucky to end up with you here?” Waverly asks, and it's Nicole’s turn to blush then. 

 

“I was askin’ myself something similar,” Nicole returns once she controls the hopeful rolling of her heart. 

 

She pops the last bit of sweet fruit into her mouth before she sucks the sugar crystals off her fingers, and she doesn’t miss the way that Waverly’s eyes dip down to follow the movement, ever so quickly, but definitely  _ there _ . 

 

She smiles down at Waverly, and in another world, in another place where people didn’t watch them so keenly, and so judgingly, Nicole would have dropped her lips to Waverly’s own and kissed her. 

 

But she knows she can’t. 

 

Not here. Not where they’d almost be stoned in the street for it. 

 

But someday soon, in the privacy of their own company, Nicole would like to. If Waverly will permit it, she would  _ love _ to. 

 

Nicole thinks the smile on Waverly’s face will follow her into her next life, and her own, too, but it drops quicker than she’s anticipating when they walk a few more feet and stop in front of the still closed and boarded up confectionary shop. 

 

“Huh. That’s odd,” Waverly says as she moves to press her face against the glass, but something in Nicole screams  _ wrong _ , so she reaches with a quick, but gentle hand to stop Waverly before she gets too close. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Nicole offers genuinely, taking her hand off Waverly’s arm slowly. “I didn’t mean to…I just, something feels strange. I didn’t want you to get too close.”

 

“It’s okay,” Waverly affirms, touching Nicole’s hand reassuringly, showing that she appreciates the thoughtfulness. 

 

Nicole gives her a quick wink of what she hopes reads as calming and not mildly apprehensive, walking the few steps so she can hold her hand to the glass and look through. 

 

Nothing looks untoward in the shop, there’s nothing disturbed or out of place, and that makes Nicole feel even more uneasy. 

 

“Is the shop shut often?” Nicole asks as she turns to face Waverly, who has taken another step forward, whether to be closer to Nicole or closer to the shop, Nicole isn’t sure. 

 

“Never,” Waverly answers, shaking her head with a frown across her brow. “I don’t think it’s been closed for as long as I can remember. Maybe she’s unwell?”

 

“Maybe,” Nicole says, distracted as she peers down the side of the building in the narrow gap between its neighbour, but again finding nothing untoward. “How old is she? Is she married? Any children we could speak with to make sure she’s okay?”

 

“Older than us,” Waverly replies as she takes in Nicole’s thoroughness, smiling subtly at Nicole’s switch into a different mindset. “She never married, though, so no children, either.”

 

“Does she have family in town?” Nicole asks, struck by the isolation of this woman, and the potential loneliness that  _ she _ could have in the future as an unmarried, childless, unpartnered woman. 

 

“Not that I know of,” Waverly says as she thinks. “The Sheriff will know better, or Chrissy even, but I think her parents died before I was born and left her the shop. She has a few friends around town, but none that she stays with.”

 

“Does she sleep upstairs?” Nicole inquires, stepping back to look at the small window in the top of the building, and again, nothing looks off beyond the apparent lack of life, but something feels  _ wrong. _

 

“As far as I know,” Waverly answers, nodding as she takes a step towards Nicole, sliding her arm back into Nicole’s own. “I can leave you to your afternoon if you need to to see the Sheriff?”

 

“Sorry,” Nicole says, shaking her head, realising how off track she had gone. “I’m sorry, Waverly, I didn’t mean to draw you away.”

 

“It’s okay,” Waverly replies with a slightly playful smile on her lips. “It’s interestin’ watching you like this.”

 

“Like what?” Nicole asks, tilting her head to the side curiously. 

 

“Bein’ a deputy,” Waverly returns as her cheeks blush a little pink. “Watching you work, it’s…”

 

Nicole  _ desperately _ wants her to finish the sentence, in spite of the fact that she thinks she knows what Waverly is going to say. That it  _ does _ something to her, watching Nicole like this. It sets a tingle in her palms the same way that it does to Nicole when she appraises Waverly breezing around her shop. 

 

“Special,” Waverly finishes, because there isn’t anyone close to them, but even still, they both know they need to keep their speech clipped. “It’s special.”

 

“I’m delighted I could provide some entertainment for you, ma’am,” Nicole replies with another quick wink before she turns back to Waverly fully. “I probably should be gettin’ back, as much as I’d far rather stay in your company.”

 

“Of course,” Waverly says with a sigh that hides the majority of her disappointment, although Nicole catches the last breath of it. “Of course, I’m sorry to have kept you for so long.”

 

“It wasn’t long enough,” Nicole reassures her as she scoops Waverly’s arm up and repositions her hand in the bend of her elbow. “And it’s been my pleasure. With or without the sweet treat, which I’m very grateful for, by the way.”

 

“That’s my pleasure,” Waverly says easily. “Really, Miss Haught, I appreciate your time greatly.”

 

“My time is always yours,” Nicole replies with a smooth breath. “Anytime. I mean it.”

 

“You’re too kind to me,” Waverly returns, dropping her head, that loose strand of hair falling down around the side of her face again, and Nicole has to bite her lip to prevent herself from reaching for it.

 

“You deserve nothin’ but kindness, Miss Earp,” Nicole says quietly, stopping to look down at Waverly properly, so she knows how much Nicole  _ means _ what she’s saying. “And I intend to give it to you.”

 

_ I intend to give you everything you’d ever want, if you’ll let me. _

 

“I’d like that,” Waverly replies softly, as though she’s trying desperately not to get her hopes up, but her heart is running ahead of her, regardless. “I’d really like that.” 

 

“Good,” Nicole says with a warm, but strong timbre to her voice, before she leads Waverly gently back towards her shop. “For now, though, regretfully, I have to take my leave.”

 

“Will you call in on your way back to the Inn?” Waverly asks eagerly before she catches the quickness of her response, and Nicole can see her mentally admonish herself. “I mean…”

 

“I’d love to,” Nicole says quickly before Waverly has a chance to let doubt slip into her mind. “I’d love to, Miss Earp. If you won’t have retired yourself?”

 

“I’ll wait,” Waverly replies simply. “I’ll wait.”

 

And Nicole tries really,  _ really _ hard not to let her own hopes run away with her then, but it’s the most difficult thing  _ not _ to, especially when Waverly’s looking at her like she has the warmth of the sun in her hands instead of Waverly’s own. 

 

“Now you’re bein’ too kind to me,” Nicole says with a soft smile as she slows their steps ahead of Waverly’s shop. 

 

“No such thing,” Waverly winks back, and Nicole has to admit, she thought she had a reasonable drop of charm, but Waverly certainly isn’t short of it herself, nor of the ability to use it, it would seem. 

 

They stop just outside the whitewashed front of Waverly’s store, and Waverly takes her arm back slowly,  _ begrudgingly _ , and Nicole can’t  _ not _ smile at that. 

 

She hands Waverly her paper bag, letting her hands linger on the sides so Waverly has the option to brush her hands past Nicole’s as she takes it back, which she does, and the jump of lightning strikes low and subtle, as does the touch, but definitely, overwhelmingly,  _ there _ . 

 

“Thank you again for the outing, Miss Earp,” Nicole says formally, before her face bends in a smile. 

 

“Thank you kindly for escorting me, Deputy,” Waverly teases back with an equal formalness. “I’ll see you later, perhaps?”

 

“Most definitely,” Nicole affirms strongly, and Waverly beams. “Until then?”

 

“Until then, Deputy,” Waverly says as Nicole tips her hat and walks away. 

 

She only manages a dozen steps before the urge to turn and see whether Waverly is still watching her spins her body of its own accord, and Nicole beams herself when she sees that Waverly hasn’t moved an inch. 

 

She’s standing in exactly the same spot, both her slim, tanned arms wrapped around the front of the paper bag. but she raises one shyly, gently, meaningfully, to give Nicole a wave that makes her heart trill. 

 

_ Jesus Christ, Haught _ , she thinks to herself as she turns back, finally, and makes her way towards the jail.  _ You’re doomed already.  _

 

It’s funny. though, that not so insignificant thing, because she finds that she doesn’t mind at all. 

  
  


-

  
  


The jail is empty, save Nedley and one of the other deputies when she finally makes her way back through the door, an apology fresh on her lips.

 

“I’m sorry I was gone so long, sir,” Nicole says as she walks up to his desk. “Waverly Earp asked if I’d escort her down to the store. Not that I’m using her as an excuse, I was more than happy to, I mean…”

 

“It’s fine, Haught,” he replies, more than a little amused at her rambling. “I don’t know where these jokers are half the time either, apologise if you take a half-day lunch, and nothin’ short of that, alright?”

 

“Yes, sir,” Nicole sighs in relief. “Of course. And actually, I did some work. The confectionary shop was still closed. I had a look around, but I couldn’t see anythin’ out of the ordinary. I can go back if you want, and have another look?”

 

“Damn,” Nedley says by way of response. “Could you see anythin’ in the window? Any movement in the shop or in the window above?”

 

“Nothin’,” Nicole replies, shaking her head. “Nor down the side of the building, either.”

 

“I appreciate the offer, Haught,” Nedley says as he walks over to one of the other desks and starts rifling through it. “But I think it’s best I do it myself. She’ll recognise the badge just fine, and it’s not that you’re not a friendly sight, but if she’s unwell, I think a familiar one might be better.”

 

“Good thinkin’, sir,” Nicole returns, her admiration for his thoughtfulness increasing by the day. “If you need a hand with anythin’ else, though…”

 

“I’ll let you know,” he nods back as he continues to rummage before he pulls out a few sheets of paper. “Thanks, Deputy. And look, I’ll leave these here. It might be best if we start puttin’ up a few ‘missing person’ posters. If she’s hidin’ for whatever reason, that’ll bring her out quick, knowing someone’s worried. Draw somethin’ up and get it down to the printing press so they can make a few copies, will you?”

 

“Yes, sir,” Nicole says, walking over to collect the paper from him. 

 

“Oh, Haught, Chrissy came callin’ for you earlier,” he says absently as he collects his things to leave. “She said she’d call on you again later this afternoon once she’d done a few things for me.”

 

“Thanks for the heads up, sir,” Nicole replies with a little smile at Chrissy’s continued show of friendship. “I’ll be sure to wait, just in case she makes her way back here.”

 

“Get her to hang around, if you can?” Nedley asks Nicole as he drops his hat onto his head and prepares to walk out through the door. “I’d rather she didn’t try make her way out home without me. Something about this just don’t feel right, you know?”

 

“Funny,” Nicole comments with a frown. “Gus said the same thing, the other night, my first night in town actually, while we were all in Waverly’s…ah, Miss Earp’s shop.”

 

“Did she now?” Nedley asks, a troubled look settling over his face, as though the fact that Gus felt  _ something _ has more significance than perhaps Nicole had first thought. “Hmm, maybe I’ll call on my way back here and ask if she’s noticed anything off.”

 

“Good luck, sir,” Nicole says just before Nedley disappears out the door. He tips his hat briefly before he turns on his heel, and then he’s gone. 

 

“What do you think’s goin’ on?” one of the other deputies asks once he and Nicole are alone. “Do you think she’s just sick, or…”

 

“I don’t know,” Nicole replies, trying to put her experience to work while she thinks about the last few days, wracking her brain as she tries to identify anything, or anyone, that seemed off or out of place. 

 

Normally she’s excellent at picking a grain of sand in a trough-full that’s out of place, but it’s difficult when she’s new to town, when she doesn’t know the habits of the people yet, where the good seeds are, and where the bad are, too. 

 

And perhaps it’s in part because she’s been so distracted by Waverly Earp, but honestly, she can’t recall anything to mind that might have been cause for concern. No dubious characters moving about in the open or doing anything they shouldn’t be, other than the asshole Champ Hardy, but Nicole doubts he has the intelligence to do anything beyond clumsily trying to stake his claim over Waverly at every pass and turn. 

 

“I don’t know. I honestly don’t know,” Nicole repeats before she sits herself down at a desk and sets herself to making a few missing person posters with the other deputy. “But I wish I did.”

 

“Nedley’s good at his job,” the other deputy replies after a while. “Despite what folk might say about him, this town's been calmer than I can ever remember it being under him as Sheriff. He’s good at his job. If there’s anything going on, he’ll find out, and then we can help him.”

 

“He sounds like a good man to work for,” Nicole says fondly, pausing in her work. 

 

“He’s the best, actually,” he says with a look to Nicole. “Damn sight better than Ward Earp.”

 

“You worked for him, too?” Nicole asks as she tries to ascertain the age of the other man. 

 

“Sure did,” the deputy replies. “And he was a good Sheriff, too, don’t get me wrong, but he was a real asshole - beggin’ you pardon - to his men. And those poor girls of his, too.”

 

“I’ve heard as much,” Nicole says a little ruefully. “He sounds like a troubled man.”

 

“He was,” the deputy says with raised eyebrows. “I’m damn thankful Nedley stepped up once he…after what happened. We all were.”

 

“Lucky us, huh?” Nicole returns with a smile, attempting to turn the conversation a little brighter, shivering despite the heat of the day at their talk of the dead. 

 

“Lucky us, indeed,” he says brightly, taking Nicole’s change of topic quickly before he turns his head and stands to greet an incoming visitor. “How you doin’, Miss Nedley?”

 

Nicole follows suit, despite the fact that Chrissy is her friend, and she frowns at the both of them, waving their politeness away. 

 

“Sit down, the two of you,” Chrissy says with a frown that quickly turns into a smile. “Deputy Haught, I’m so glad you’re here. Daddy said I might catch you again if I came back later.”

 

She sweeps over to wrap Nicole in a hug, before she takes Nicole’s hands in her own. “How are you? Good day?”

 

“Good day,” Nicole says, nodding in affirmation. “The Sheriff is just out trying to get to the bottom of why the confectionary shop is still closed, but other than that, it’s been a good afternoon.”

 

“I noticed that was still closed when Miss Earp and I walked past it just now,” Chrissy says with a slightly troubled look on her face. “I can’t remember the last time that it was shut. I hope everything’s alright.”

 

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Nicole answers reassuringly, giving Chrissy’s hand a quick squeeze. “Your father will probably be back in no time.”

 

“It’s not actually him I’m here to see,” Chrissy says brightly as she looks to Nicole. “I came to see you earlier, but that was just to see how you were after your morning. I have something I want to ask you about now, though.”

 

“I do, too, actually,” Nicole replies with a frown across her own brow. “Do you think we could step out for a moment?”

 

“Certainly,” Chrissy says, nodding eagerly before turning to their audience. “Excuse us for a moment, Deputy.”

 

“Of course, ma’am,” he says respectfully as he stands and turns to leave. “I’ll leave you to it.”

 

“Oh no,” both she and Chrissy say at the same time, before they both smile and Nicole continues. “Stay here, we’ll just step outside.”

 

“You’re sure?” he asks, worried obviously, that Nedley will come back and see his daughter relegated to the back porch of the jail. 

 

“Absolutely,” Chrissy says with a reassuring smile. “We won’t be a moment. I won’t take up too much more of Deputy Haught’s time.”

 

He sits down from his awkward half-stand-half-squat, still reluctant, until Chrissy gives him one last smile and he leans back in his chair a little easier. 

 

They step outside, hidden largely from the afternoon sun, but it’s still hot enough that Nicole feels the need to roll the sleeves of her shirt a little higher. 

 

“So,” Chrissy says quietly after she peers back inside and sights the other deputy bending back to his work. “Seen anyone interesting today?”

 

“No,” Nicole replies with a grimace as she tries again to think back to anyone that might have been out of place. “Nothing I can think of, damn it. It’s hard when you’re new and you don’t know everyone’s little habits, you know?”

 

“No,” Chrissy laughs. “I mean anyone  _ else _ interesting. I just stopped by Waverly’s shop on the way here, and she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.”

 

“Oh,” Nicole answers when she realises what Chrissy is insinuating. “Yes, I mean, of course I did. Waverly and I…we, I mean I escorted her to the store to get a few things.”

 

“She said as much,” Chrissy says, her smile holding proudly as she watches Nicole’s cheeks redden. “She mentioned the two of you might…”

 

“Yes,” Nicole replies quickly. “I mean…it’s just…we’re just going to have dinner, if we can manage without anyone… actually, that’s what I wanted to ask you about.”

 

“Dinner?” Chrissy asks curiously, tilting her head. 

 

“No,” Nicole says, shaking her head gently, her cheeks burning hotter before she snaps herself back to form, because she’s doing this for Waverly, no matter how uncomfortable it might make her. “I need some…help with something.”

 

“Anything,” Chrissy replies with a smile. “I mean, besides breakin’ a law or something of the like.”

 

“It feels like we just about are,” Nicole says underneath her breath before Chrissy reaches for her arm. 

 

“Hey,” Chrissy offers gently. “It’ll be different one day. I know it will. Probably not in our life, nor the children of the next, but I know it’ll change one day, Nicole.”

 

“God, I hope so,” Nicole says, sighing heavily. “I really hope so, but no, this isn’t breakin’ any law I know of, at least. I need help with…”

 

“With?” Chrissy prompts when Nicole doesn’t say anything for a moment. 

 

“A dress,” Nicole says finally as her face scrunches and she drops her head into her waiting hands, talking through her fingers. “I need help buying a dress.”

 

“For your date?” Chrissy asks, and Nicole can tell she’s smothering the urge to smile at Nicole’s discomfort, but she won’t, because she can see how nervous and out of her depth Nicole appears to feel just asking the question. “You want help with something to wear?” 

 

“Yes,” Nicole says as the embarrassment crawls over every inch of her skin. “A dress. Specifically a dress.”

 

“You don’t have one with you?” Chrissy asks before she berates herself for her thoughtlessness. “I mean, I’m sorry, Nicole. I shouldn’t have assumed. Why a dress, though? Do you  _ want _ to wear a dress?”

 

“I think Waverly wants me to?” Nicole replies quietly. “She made a comment earlier, and I…I think that’s what she’s expecting? That this outfit...is just for work?”

 

“Did you ask her about it?” Chrissy asks with a gentle question. “Because I’m sure she’d want you to be yourself, Nicole. Not who you think she wants.”

 

“I don’t know,” Nicole says as she thinks back to their conversation and Waverly’s throwaway comment. “I mean, I know she wouldn’t consciously ask me, but I just thought that was her subconscious way of sayin’ she’d prefer if I looked more…”

 

“Proper?” Chrissy offers. “Ladylike?”

 

“Exactly,” Nicole replies with a grimace. “And I might be completely wrong, but if I’m not… I don’t want to risk her bein’ disappointed if I show up dressed in a different way to what she’s expecting?” 

 

“I’m not gonna tell you not to do somethin’ when I think your heart’s set on it, but I know Waverly wouldn’t have meant it like that. Not on purpose,” Chrissy says softly, in an attempt, Nicole thinks, to ease her mind. “But, if that’s what you want, I’d be more than willin’ to help you find whatever it is you’re lookin’ for.”

 

“You would?” Nicole asks, sighing in relief. “Thank goodness, because I don’t even know where to  _ start _ .”

 

“Well, I do,” Chrissy says with a relaxed tone to her voice that immediately makes Nicole feel more at ease. “I could make a profession out of it, if we had an endless pot of gold to pay for it.”

 

“Would you have time tomorrow?” Nicole asks as she rubs her hand over the base of her neck beneath her braid. “I don’t want to put any pressure on you today, and I have to run somethin’ to the printing press soon, as well as clean off half the desert in my hair and down my back, but tomorrow…?”

 

“Tomorrow would be perfect,” Chrissy answers brightly. “Absolutely perfect. I can hardly wait, I’m thinkin’ we’ll look for something dark with that hair of yours, maybe an indigo blue, if the dressmaker has anything. That’ll bring the colour up nicely.”

 

She rattles off a few other points to herself, all of which are far beyond Nicole, before she turns back to Nicole and looks over her shoulder. 

 

“That was quick. Daddy’s back already, maybe he found her upstairs,” Chrissy says as they both turn and walk inside, although it quickly becomes clear to the both of them that whatever Nedley has found isn’t good news. 

 

“Is everythin’ alright, Sheriff?” Nicole asks as Nedley drops his hat into his hands, wiping his brow with his forearm. 

 

“Everything’s just fine,” Nedley answers with a worried frown. “But that’s just the problem. I made my way inside, and everything’s just fine. Nothing out of shape, nothing disturbed or missing, from what I could see. No sign of a struggle. Nothing.”

 

“And nothin’ upstairs, either?” Nicole queries as the feeling of unease in the pit of her stomach deepens. 

 

“Nothin’,” Nedley says in confirmation. “Everything was fine. Not a hair out of place. I’m wondering if you wouldn’t mind comin’ back with me, Haught, just in case I missed something. Your old Sheriff said how good you were at findin’ things other people miss.”

 

“Of course, sir,” Nicole replies, a warm surge of pride running through her veins at the compliment. “Do you want to go now, or…”

 

Nicole’s brought up short by the appearance of a rather disheveled looking man at the walk-in door of the jail. 

 

“Jackson,” Nedley says immediately, stepping forward to greet the newcomer. “What’s takin’ you, man? It looks like the devil chased you here.”

 

“I think he might’ve,” the other deputy says under his breath as he stands to move a little closer to the group. 

 

“My daughter,” the man --  _ Jackson _ , Nicole corrects herself -- says with a pained breath as he reaches for Nedley’s arm roughly. “Is she here? Have any of you seen her?”

 

“Charlotte?” Chrissy asks gently. “Do you mean Charlotte, Mr. Jackson?” 

 

“She’s the only one I got, ain’t she?” he snaps at Chrissy, and all three of them bristle at the way his voice comes out, all stepping forward to put themselves a little in front of Chrissy before the other man blanches a little. 

 

“I know you’re aggrieved for whatever reason, sir, but you’ll watch your mouth before you talk to any woman like that, particularly my daughter,” Nedley says with a hard eye, and for the first time since she arrived, Nicole has a glimpse at the true steel of the man. 

 

“Of course, Sheriff,” the man says immediately, recognising his rudeness. “Beggin’ your pardon, Miss, it’s just, she didn’t come home to the farm last night, and I thought she might have gotten herself stuck in town, but I can’t find her anywhere, and no one’s seen her since yesterday afternoon. She’s too young and too careful to have found herself in trouble, I just don’t know where else she could be.”

 

“I saw her at the tailor’s yesterday afternoon,” Chrissy offers quietly. “But not later than that.”

 

“You’ll pardon my askin’, but she didn’t have a… suitor of any kind did she? They couldn’t have…” Nedley asks delicately, obviously not wanting to aggravate the already tense man in front of them, but eager to find out everything he can that might help. 

 

“No,” he replies, shaking his head. “None at all. I wish she did, then this whole thing would be simpler, but she don’t. I’ve already been to all the stores she normally goes to, everyone she knows, but no one’s seen her.”

 

The sinking feeling in Nicole’s stomach yawns wider as she puts two and two together. Because the woman who owns the shop in town may well be sick and missing of her own accord, and so might this young woman, but if not…

 

“Don’t worry about it, man,” Nedley says with a comforting pat on the man’s arm. “We’ll find her, don’t you worry. I’m sure she’s just gone and got herself stuck somewhere. We’ll all head out and start askin’ a few questions, and I bet you’ll have her back before supper.”

 

Nicole is about to question the positivity Nedley’s giving this man, because it’s very probably false hope, but then she sees the way his body visibly relaxes, and Nicole knows this is better, that he’s better off having some small peace now and a heartache to come, instead of just breaking his heart flat out now. 

 

She can see the other deputy out of the corner of her eye, obviously thinking the same thing, and hesitant to put himself on the line of hope, so Nicole does it for him. 

 

“Don’t worry, sir,” Nicole says, stepping up to Nedley’s side. “The Sheriff’s right, we’ll rotate searches until we find her, but I’m sure she’s not far away.”

 

“It was a right thing you did,” he says before he looks to Nedley. “Givin’ her the job. She’ll be a fine deputy.”

 

“I ain’t no idiot,” Nedley replies, nudging the man gently. “Now, you can either stick around and ride out with us, or you can head out on your own patrol, it’s up to you?”

 

“I think I’ll head off on my own, thank you kindly, Sheriff,” he says as he collects himself. “I’ll see if I can drag a few others away from their afternoon drinks to help. I’ll call back in at sunset to see if any of you’ve had luck?”

 

“See you then,” Nedley answers with a nod of his hat. “Godspeed to you, man.”

 

He gives the others a tip of his own hat before he leaves them all to it, and Nedley turns back to Nicole with a heavy frown. 

 

“Jesus wept, you don’t think…” he offers, his brain scrambling to find connections between the two missing women as Nicole’s had a moment ago. 

 

“I think so, sir,” Nicole says solemnly, scratching at the nape of her neck, just to do something with her hands. “We should start…”

 

“Yes, we should,” Nedley replies, looking around the room to Chrissy. “I want you to stay here, young lady. I’ll take you home with me, but until then, I want you to stay with a deputy, alright?”

 

“Yes, Daddy,” Chrissy nods in acquiescence, and Nicole can see that Chrissy is more than a little shaken by the man’s entrance and quick exit. “I’ll stay with Nicole, and…”

 

“I want Haught to come with me,” Nedley says to Chrissy carefully. “I need her to have a look over the shop, see if she can find anything, but you’re okay here with the others.”

 

“Of course,” Chrissy answers, smiling to the other deputy there, who returns her smile fondly. “I can beat him at poker a few times before you come back, I’m sure.”

 

“That’s what you think, is it?” he asks Chrissy with a reassuring and calming tone to his voice, and she watches Chrissy’s shoulders ease a little as they continue to bicker playfully in the background.  

 

“I’m ready whenever you are, sir,” Nicole says, turning back to Nedley. 

 

“Good,” Nedley returns gruffly, although Nicole can hear the slight anxiety in his voice, whether at leaving Chrissy here, or at the situation in general, she’s not sure. He shakes the ghosts from his shoulders a few seconds later before he looks to Nicole with a more determined expression on his face. “Let’s go.”

  
  


-

  
  


The walk down the Main Street doesn’t take them long, but Nicole spends it trying to collect as much information on the missing women as she can. 

 

“Couldn’t be more opposite if you tried,” Nedley says when Nicole asks him whether there were any similarities between the two of them. “One’s tall, the other’s short. One’s young, younger than Chrissy and yourself, and the other’s much older.”

 

“Huh,” Nicole replies, digesting the information. “What about the families? Any enemies or grudges? Any reason someone might look for a bit of revenge?”

 

“There are plenty of other families around here that do, but not those two. Both clean as you like,” Nedley answers as he contemplates the information, too. “I can’t think of anything to connect them, beyond the fact that they’re women.”

 

“I mean, I don’t even know them, but that’s the only link I can see, too, sir,” Nicole says before they stop in front of her shop, still boarded and closed, and not, despite Nicole’s wishes on the way here, open with its owner happily inside. 

 

“The entrance is ‘round the back,” Nedley says, leading Nicole down between the building and the one beside it. She takes her time walking to meet him as her eyes move keenly over everything in the alley, looking for anything that might offer them some help or clue. 

 

She doesn’t see anything out of place, though, not one thing besides a small black smudge about shoulder height on the side of the building, but it’s nowhere near the door where the woman might have come and gone, and could have been left by anyone else in town, given the freely found access to coal. 

 

“Anythin’?” Nedley asks her when she makes her way to him at the end of the alley by the door. “Anythin’ look out of place to you?”

 

“Nothin’ that jumps at me,” Nicole returns with a frown as she continues to swing her gaze around. “There’s a coal smudge down a way, but that could have been left by anyone, I suppose.”

 

“Probably nothing,” Nedley says, casting one last look around, too, before he puts his hand on the doorknob and shoulders the door open. 

 

The light in the shop is low, but the sun’s still bright enough outside that Nicole can see most things clearly once her eyes adjust to the darkness. 

 

She draws in a deep breath, tasting the air for any sort of a clue, but she can’t smell anything beyond the lingering scent of sweetness and sugar from the confectionary. 

 

“Is this what the shop normally looks like?” Nicole asks, walking around carefully, conscious of the need to not disturb anything. 

 

“More or less,” Nedley says, nodding as he does a loop around the small shop, too, before he meets Nicole at the bottom of the staircase to the upper floor. “Tidier than usual, but then I’ve only been here in the day before, not without customers.”

 

“And you went upstairs?” Nicole questions as she peers up the stairs to the roof of the second floor. 

 

“Only briefly,” Nedley replies, putting his hands on the rail and starting to climb. “Only to make sure she wasn’t up here, but I didn’t have a decent look around.”

 

Nicole follows Nedley up the stairs as every hair on the back of her neck and her forearms stands to attention in anticipation of what they might find. 

 

There isn’t a lot, she notices, when they walk around the space of the small room. It’s tidy -- as tidy as the shop downstairs -- and to an outsider, everything might  _ look _ in place, but Nicole has seen enough in her relatively young life to know that not everything that looks untouched, is _ actually  _ so. 

 

“Anything look off to you?” Nedley asks Nicole while he watches her walk around, looking at small things as she tries to find something that might help them. 

 

“Maybe. The bed looks to be made, but her dress is hung up,” Nicole says perceptively, pointing to the small cot bed and the wardrobe across the room. “Which says to me that she left here in her nightdress, either before bed, or in the early morning. I mean, she could have worn something else, but the wardrobe doesn’t look disturbed, like she had taken something else in its place.”

 

“I don’t know about you, but I think I would have noticed if a woman was wanderin’ around in her shift, don’t you?” Nedley asks with a frown.

 

“I should say so,” Nicole says a little distractedly by way of agreement as she continues her inspection of the floor. 

 

Nothing else looks to be out of place, there don’t appear to be any pieces of jewelery missing from her small nightstand, nothing seems to be missing or disturbed. 

 

Nicole’s about to walk back to Nedley when she sees something down beside the cot bed: a cup of untouched tea that looks like it had been placed for the drinker to sip in bed, that is, for whatever reason, as full as it was when poured. 

 

“Look at this,” Nicole says, walking over to the cot. “I think wherever she went, she was plannin’ on returning.”

 

“Damn,” Nedley replies as he rubs his hands over his face and takes in what that likely means. “Damn it to high hell. Good work, Haught. Anythin’ else?”

 

“Not that I can see, sir,” Nicole says with a troubled frown of her own. “Everything else looks exactly as it should.”

 

“That’s the problem,” Nedley grumbles before he sighs and turns to Nicole. “Right, if there’s nothin’ else, we should be getting back. See if the others have found anything.”

 

“Yes, sir,” Nicole returns as she casts one last look around before climbing down the stairs behind him. 

 

The energy of the room itself feels fine to Nicole, as though whatever had happened here, if something had happened, hadn’t happened  _ inside _ . Things were too tidy, too undisturbed, very much as though they were waiting for their owner to return. 

 

She feels fine downstairs, too, until they step back out into the little alleyway and Nicole shivers. 

 

“Everythin’ alright, Haught?” Nedley asks as he watches her blanch a little. 

 

“Fine, sir,” Nicole says quickly, not wanting him to think her off at all. “Just that somethin’ doesn’t feel right here, only it can’t show us what, exactly.”

 

“I know what you mean,” Nedley replies, crossing himself quickly as they walk back into the unobscured light of the Main Street. “Good eyes, back there, Deputy. I don’t know if I would have caught that myself.”

 

“Thank you, sir,” Nicole replies, feeling a small swell of pride at Nedley’s recognition. 

 

They don’t talk much as they walk back to the jail, both caught up in trying to process just what their small discoveries at the shop really mean. 

 

They don’t pass Waverly’s shop on their walk back, it’s a way on in the other direction, closer to the confectionary shop and general store she and Waverly has visited earlier in the day, and she knows it’s ridiculous because it’s still full daylight, but she can’t quite fully smother the urge to want to run at full speed down just to make sure Waverly’s okay, too. 

 

“I know what you’re thinkin’,” Nedley says all of a sudden, watching Nicole throw a glance in that direction. “But don’t you worry. The second that sister of hers catches sound of trouble, she’ll be there givin’ Waverly the sermon on makin’ sure she’s extra careful, as if she’s not already.”

 

“Good,” Nicole says with a rough voice, as if trying to convince the both of them that she’s not really that worried. “I mean, I know she’s a big girl, but…”

 

“I know,” Nedley replies, and Nicole knows he won’t bring the subject up straight to her face in light of the surrounding taboo, but she thinks this might be his way of letting Nicole know that whatever her preferences are, they’re okay. “Don’t worry, Haught. I know. Why do you think I asked Chrissy to stay put? I know she’s more than capable, but…”

 

And Nicole knows. She  _ knows _ . Because Waverly and Chrissy are capable young women, but two disappearances in as many days in a town this size means there’s something  _ wrong _ , and it’s even more unnerving when they’re so blind as to what it is that could be responsible for them. 

 

They don’t know  _ who’s _ responsible, or  _ what’s _ actually happening, or how many  _ other _ people might go missing before they can get to the bottom of it. 

 

“What do you think’s goin’ on, sir?” Nicole asks Nedley before they walk through the door into the jail. 

 

“Damned if I know, Haught,” Nedley answers, turning to give her his full attention. “But I do know that whatever it is, ain’t good. And I think this is only the beginning.”

 

“I have a feelin’ you might be right, sir,” Nicole says with a deeply concerned frown. “I have a terrible feelin’ you might be right.”

  
  


-


	4. four.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy reading team, I hope you enjoy the next installment!
> 
> Thanks a million as always to Smurf for every bit of her help with this. 
> 
> x

-

  
  


They arrive back at the jail and report Nicole’s findings to the other deputies assembled before Mr. Jackson returns with a few men to advise that they haven’t had any luck with their own searches. 

 

Nedley doesn’t tell them about the confectionary shop, or the other potentially linked missing person, and Nicole supports Nedley’s decision wholeheartedly. 

 

To tell them now, without further information - or, Nicole thinks begrudgingly,  _ any _ information - is to risk widespread panic. And as much as that will likely put the person - if there  _ is _ a person - on alert, it could also hasten their hand into actions that are much worse. 

 

He leaves with an assurance that they’ll do a last sweep of the town and nearby farms before nightfall, and they’ll meet in the morning to discuss any findings, or if they’re successful in their search, will return the young woman to her father immediately. 

 

As much as Nicole wants to think this is nothing more than a coincidence, it’s becoming clearer and clearer in her head that it is not, and that the two are not randomly missing, but rather connected somehow. 

 

She watches Jackson leave with his men, dejected, but still hopeful, and she feels sick because she knows even now that they’re unlikely to find his daughter alive. And it makes her heart pull, too, for the woman who owns the confectionary shop, potentially missing for two days without a single family member to sound the alarm for her. 

 

And then she thinks of Waverly, of sweet, kind,  _ flawless _ Waverly, who looks like a maiden fair; who looks like a virgin sacrifice from the Greek tragedies she sometimes reads; who, if there  _ is _ someone, could very well be in danger, too. 

 

_ Not if I have anything to do with it, _ Nicole thinks with clenched fists as the watches the last of the men file out the door into the early evening sun. They’ll take her over my dead body. 

 

“Right,” Nedley says, turning to the three deputies assembled in front of him, missing only one other, at home, sleeping off his night shift. “I want the three of you to start patrolling, ask questions, start lookin’ for anything that might help us, or that, god forbid, points to anyone else having gone missing, alright? I’m going to stay here in case Jackson comes back with any news.”

 

_ With any  _ **_bad_ ** _ news _ , Nicole finishes in her head. The kind of news that the Sheriff alone can communicate to the town. 

 

“Yes, sir,” the three of them echo before Nedley steps towards Nicole, picking the  **MISSING PERSON** sign up off of the desk nearest to him. 

 

“Take this to the printing press, will you, Haught?” Nedley asks of her specifically. “Have a good look around town while you’re walkin’, too. Do you think you have a good idea of who’s who yet?”

 

“I think so, sir,” Nicole nods to him as he steps closer to her. “I mean, there might be a few I haven’t seen, but I recognise most already.”

 

“Good,” he says gruffly, watching the other two men walk out the door together before they climb up onto their waiting horses and head out to scout the nearby surrounds for any signs or clues. “Anyone that looks unusual, or anyone you haven’t seen in the few days you’ve been here, I want you to question them, okay? See if others recognise them, if others are talkin’ to them.”

 

“Yes, sir,” Nicole answers seriously. “And, sir... Did you want me to call on Gus, too? See if there’s been anyone stayin’ there that she hasn’t seen before?”

 

“If you’re passin’, that’s a good thought,” Nedley says approvingly, pleased with her initiative. “But if she’s not around, just mention it to her when you head back tonight, alright?”

 

“Of course, sir,” Nicole replies with a nod. “Is there anythin’ else? Anythin’ else we can do?”

 

“Just keep our eyes open,” Nedley says with a growl, and Nicole can tell that this is affecting him more deeply than he’s letting on. That he’s upset at the fact that this is happening on his watch, and they hadn’t realised until they were two missing persons down. “Keep your eyes open and pray to god that we don’t have another visit like this one tomorrow.”

 

“Yes, sir,” Nicole replies solemnly before she turns to leave, giving Chrissy in the corner of the room a farewell wave before she walks out into the street. 

 

_ It’s eerie, _ she thinks as she makes her way back towards the Inn and Waverly’s shop, a few places up from the printing press. This morning, this street had felt safe, secure, welcoming, and now, with the events of the day, it feels  _ changed _ . 

 

It’s subtle, nothing more than the feeling of someone walking over her grave or the hairs on the back of her neck standing half-high, but the undercurrent of malignancy, it’s  _ there _ . 

 

Nicole shivers, and the sensation slithers down the back of her neck like a snake before she tilts her head to the sun and tries to will the warmth to banish the sense of dread weighing her blood down. 

 

As if drawn to it by some rope or thread, her body sensing the need for light, Nicole finds herself face to face with the window of Waverly’s shop, where Waverly is talking, happily ignorant, hopefully, for now, to whatever black-blooded threat is moving through the town unseen and unnoticed. 

 

Waverly catches sight of her, as if drawn by the same thread, so Nicole gestures quickly to the paper in her hand, and her intention to return momentarily, before Waverly smiles her  _ beautifully _ soft smile, and Nicole floats, all stress drained, to the printing press a few doors down. 

 

She speaks to the printer quietly, making him aware of the situation and asking whether he had seen anything unusual, to which he shakes his head, advising that he’ll make copies of the sign Nicole hands to him as a priority before she makes her way back to Waverly’s shop. 

 

She raises her hand to shield her eyes from the sun, casting her gaze up and down the street as Nedley had asked, looking for anyone unfamiliar to her eye, but she doesn’t see anything. 

 

She spots Gus down the way, busy talking to a man outside the cobbler’s, so Nicole makes a mental note to talk to her later, and makes straight for Waverly’s shop instead. 

 

It makes Nicole feel faintly sick, the thought that she has to tell Waverly what’s been going on, or rather what they think  _ might  _ be going on, but Nicole knows that Waverly needs to know. More than just to keep herself safe, she  _ deserves _ to know. This is more her town than it will ever be Nicole’s, after all, and who is she to withhold something like his from her? 

 

“Good evening, Deputy,” Waverly says with a light-filled smile as she waves her last customer out the door, and Nicole steps aside to accommodate the departure before she walks through herself. “I wasn’t expectin’ to see you until much later. Is everything alright?”

 

Nicole doesn’t say anything for a moment, and she regrets it, because Waverly’s face falls and her hands reach for Nicole’s immediately. 

 

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Waverly says as she ducks beneath the counter so she can stand face to face with Nicole. She pulls Nicole a little closer so she can inspect her hands before she runs her eyes up and down Nicole’s body, checking for any visible signs of harm. “Did somethin’ happen?”

 

“I’m okay,” Nicole replies calmly, taking Waverly’s hands into her own properly so she can run her thumb soothingly over the bump of Waverly’s knuckles. “I’m okay, I promise. It’s…we’ve had a few things happen today, and I wanted to come tell you myself.”

 

“What is it?” Waverly asks quickly, and Nicole can feel her brimming with nervous energy. “Is someone hurt, or…?”

 

“No one’s hurt,” Nicole says carefully before she looks around them to ensure there isn’t anyone about to walk into the shop. “Well, not yet, anyway.”

 

“What do you mean, not yet? Wait…” Waverly breathes as she cuts herself off. “Does this have anythin’ to do with the confectionary shop? Did something happen to her?”

 

“That’s the problem,” Nicole replies, her fingers running over the fine bones of Waverly’s hand without conscious thought. “We don’t know, because we can’t find her. She’s missing, Waverly.”

 

“ _ Missing _ ?” Waverly repeats disbelievingly. “Missing in Purgatory? But no one goes missing in Purgatory. It’s been safe for years.”

 

“We’re thinkin’ it might not be so safe anymore,” Nicole says, trying to remain as calm as possible so Waverly feels as though Nicole has it under control. So she feels safe and not panicked. “Because we think there might be a second person missing, too.”

 

“A second…” Waverly says, trailing off again. “But…”

 

Nicole can see her mind spinning as she tries to take the information in, and before she analyses what that means for her own physical safety, Nicole interjects. 

 

“Waverly, I didn’t tell you to scare you. If I thought it would make things worse, I would have waited, but I want to make sure you know you’re safe,” Nicole reassures her. “I won’t take my eye off you, as often as I can, okay? I just…I know you’re already careful, but just be  _ extra _ careful, alright? Don’t go out after dark, don’t open the door to anyone. If you feel afraid, I’m sure Gus would have a room for you at the Inn.”

 

“Who is it?” Waverly asks when her eyes clear once Nicole stops speaking. “Who else has gone missing?”

 

“Mr. Jackson,” Nicole says carefully. “The farmer on the outskirts of town? His daughter didn’t come home last night. He rode into the jail this afternoon and alerted us.”

 

“Have you…” Waverly asks, inclining her head out the window, and Nicole knows she means the confectionaire. 

 

“Nedley and I have had a look around, and we can’t see anythin’ that would suggest foul play. She’s just  _ gone _ . Almost into thin air,” Nicole says as that cold ominous shiver moves across her skin again. 

 

“Jesus,” Waverly breathes, and Nicole can feel a slight tremble beneath the warmth of Waverly’s hands in her own. 

 

“We’re all lookin’, and I’ve got notices on the way at the printing press. I just wanted to come and see you before anyone else did,” Nicole offers quietly, squeezing Waverly’s hand gently and prompting Waverly to settle her gaze on Nicole properly. “It’s gonna be fine. I’ll make sure you’re safe, okay?”

 

“You will?” Waverly asks with a small voice, and Nicole can see the ghost of her past move across Waverly’s heart. “I mean…”

 

“I’ll make sure of it,” Nicole says firmly, looking into Waverly’s eyes. “I  _ promise _ , Waverly Earp.”

 

“Thank you, Nicole… I…thank you,” Waverly replies with a shaky voice, and Nicole wants so badly to pull Waverly to her and hide her with the sweep of her shoulders from the world, but she doesn’t want to push, she doesn’t want…

 

She’s  _ scared _ . 

 

She’s scared of pushing too much or too hard, to prompt Waverly for contact she’s not ready for or doesn’t want, but then Waverly does something that takes her breath away. 

 

It happens quickly and in slow motion, all at once. 

 

They’re standing close, so it’s not that much for Waverly to move a little closer, to step further into the warmth of Nicole’s body. 

 

And Waverly does. 

 

She looks up to Nicole with watery eyes as she takes Nicole’s hands to her chest, before she folds herself into Nicole’s front, her own balled fists resting against Nicole’s heart. 

 

She feels the organ stop mid-thump, and she’s frozen still for about a second - not long enough for Waverly to even notice, she doesn’t think - before her body reacts as though this is something that’s happened a thousand times, that it happens on a daily basis and it’s not the single most important moment of Nicole’s life thus far. 

 

Her arms move around Waverly’s shoulders, accepting the gift of Waverly’s presence, sheltering her against the invisible storm to come, as easily as breathing. She pulls Waverly close to her, gently, reassuringly, and her marrow  _ sings _ when she feels Waverly relax entirely into the curve Nicole’s body creates for her. 

 

“It…” Waverly mumbles into her front, and Nicole pulls back slightly to put  _ just _ enough space between them so she can hear what Waverly’s saying properly. 

 

Waverly looks up at Nicole before she draws a handful of Nicole’s vest in her fists and she sets her head back against Nicole’s chest, her ear over Nicole’s pounding heart. 

 

“I’m scared,” Waverly admits when the expression on her face is hidden and she can speak to the safety of Nicole’s body. “It… this makes me feel scared. Is that…?”

 

“It’s not silly,” Nicole answers as she tightens her arms and holds Waverly closer. “It’s smart to be a little scared in times like this, but you don’t need to be afraid.”

 

“Times like this?” Waverly asks, her voice still masked a little by Nicole’s chest. “Does that mean…?”

 

“I’ve been around things like this before,” Nicole says carefully, not to scare Waverly even more with the fact that this isn’t unheard of, but to reassure her. “Not often, but this isn’t foreign. And I know it’s scary, but I promise you, the good guy always finds the bastard responsible, if that’s what’s happening, okay?”

 

Because they do, Nicole  _ knows _ they do, she just omits what she’s seen happen when that doesn’t happen  _ fast _ enough. 

 

“And you’ll…” Waverly asks, lifting her head off of Nicole’s chest before she misses the security of Nicole’s heartbeat and sets her head back down. “You’ll make sure I… you’ll keep watch for me? You’ll…”

 

“With two eyes and every  _ inch _ of my ability,” Nicole replies firmly, drawing circles between Waverly’s shoulder blades with her thumbs. “I  _ promise _ , Waverly.”

 

They stand together in the quiet of Waverly’s shop for what could be a minute or an hour, Nicole has no idea, as her hands soothe and her chin rests on the top of Waverly’s head, and she tries to hold the world and it’s worries out for a moment longer. 

 

“Everything’s going to be okay,” Nicole breathes clearly when Waverly pulls back to look up at her. “Even if it takes a little while to get there, everything’s gonna be okay. I promise. You trust me?”

 

She doesn’t mean to ask such a loaded question, and could kick herself for it the second it leaves her mouth, so she’s not expecting much of an answer, but Waverly looks at her,  _ into _ her, and without a second’s hesitation, says  _ yes _ , as though it’s the easiest thing in the world. 

 

“I trust you,” Waverly says with crystal clarity as their eyes  _ lock _ , and it stops Nicole’s heart all over again. “I trust you, Nicole.”

 

The next movement of Waverly’s hands doesn’t do much to assuage that either, because they move from resting over Nicole’s heart to run down her stomach before they clutch Nicole’s belt for a second and then drop. 

 

There’s a breath’s-length reprieve before one of Waverly’s hands moves for her again, resting ever so lightly over the lip of her belt at one of her hips, like Waverly’s loathe to break the contact altogether. 

 

She looks up to Nicole with slightly hooded eyes, and it’s the first time she’s seen Waverly look at her with  _ hunger _ , like she  _ wants _ something from Nicole, and she finds that she doesn’t mind. Not at all. 

 

She can’t deny the heat it brings to her palms where they now rest on Waverly’s hips, too, nor the flush it brings to her cheeks, and the world seems to stop still around them. 

 

Waverly’s asking a question gently with her eyes, she’s saying  _ is this okay _ as her touch wavers, ready to pull away, and Nicole answers  _ yes  _ as her own touch tightens at Waverly’s side. 

 

She smiles, a smile that seems to take up the entire length or her body, and Nicole hazards a glance around before she reaches to tuck a loose strand of hair behind Waverly’s ear. She wouldn’t dare risk a kiss, not out in the open like this, no matter how empty the street is outside, and not without more of an inclination that Waverly would permit one, too. 

 

But she wants to.  _ God _ , she wants to. 

 

And she thinks maybe - just maybe, if the blush on Waverly’s own cheeks is anything to go by - that Waverly might also want to. 

 

She’s not sure how on earth she’s going to bring them out of this moment they’re locked in, because she doesn't want to move for a herd of wild horses, but then a movement outside Waverly’s shop does it for them. 

 

It’s Champ, having walked into a barrel outside the door. 

 

Champ, who can see how close they’re standing together, and where their hands are placed. 

 

Champ, who looks at them like he  _ knows _ . 

 

And Nicole expects Waverly to jump back at his arrival, but she doesn’t. 

 

Her hand only  _ tightens _ on Nicole’s belt as she meets Champs gaze evenly. 

 

And Nicole knows it’s not the smartest idea, and that it could come back and bite them in a big way, but for the moment, she couldn’t care less. 

 

Because she’s been in the mirror of this position before, only her first love hadn’t held tight, she’d flinched away, and that had been the beginning of their end. 

 

But Waverly doesn’t flinch, she  _ holds _ , and it makes Nicole’s heart sing. 

 

His gaze doesn’t shift off of them for a second as his eyes move up and down and up again, and it feels more intrusive than Nicole knows it should. Like he’s devouring the moment for his own ends, and it makes her skin crawl, so she drops her hands in an extremely measured way, letting them linger before they fall, and she turns to Champ in a way that shields Waverly from him. 

 

“What do you want, Hardy?” Nicole asks, all pretence of pleasantry gone, because there was none on his side before, and there sure as hell won’t be now. Not now that he can see Nicole has the thing he wants: Waverly’s attention. 

 

“Just comin’ to see my future bride,” he says as he eyes Nicole maliciously. 

 

“She’s not your bride, Champ,” Nicole returns with a little more fire in her voice now. 

 

“What, do you think she’s yours?” he asks derisively, almost laughing before setting his hands on his hips and jutting them forward. “That’s  _ disgusting _ .”

 

There’s a revulsion in his tone that Nicole’s more than familiar with, sadly, but she’s almost positive Waverly won’t have heard it drip from someone’s words before, not even towards Wynonna, so she looks to her, expecting to find her hurt or scared, but she’s not. 

 

She’s upset,  _ that _ Nicole can tell, but she’s rigid with anger, not fear or hesitation. 

 

“Leave, Champ,” Waverly says coldly, walking to Nicole’s side, not bothering to step away from the warmth Nicole’s body offers. 

 

“I’ll be back,” he says ominously, and the thought of him coming to claim Waverly makes Nicole’s stomach roll with revulsion. “I know what you need, Waverly Earp. You need the touch of a  _ man _ . I’ll be back.”

 

“My answer’s not going to change, Champ,” Waverly says coolly as she straightens up beside Nicole, and it makes her proud, how willing Waverly is to stand up for herself. “Do us both a favour and don’t bother.” 

 

“So  _ she _ can have free reign at you?” he asks, throwing a dirty look at Nicole again. “Not a chance.”

 

“She’s not having free reign at anything,” Waverly replies with a quietly seething calm. “I’m my own damn person, Champ. I’m not an object, and if I’m anyone’s, I’m certainly not  _ yours _ .”

 

“For now,” he says finally, before he turns roughly on his heel and stomps down the street, the dirt giving way and stirring dust into the air in his wake. 

 

They don’t say anything for a moment, both caught watching him storm away, ensuring he’s actually gone before they turn back to one another, and Waverly sighs heavily as she leans into Nicole a little.

 

“I’m sorry,” Waverly says, her voice exhausted as she rests her head on Nicole’s arm. “I’m sorry you have to deal with that. I know it isn’t your cross to bear.”

 

“Your crosses are my crosses,” Nicole replies without thought as she watches him disappear from sight. “I mean, I shouldn’t assume, Waverly. I’m sorry.  _ If _ you’ll let me shoulder that burden with you.”

 

“It doesn’t make you want to run hide and tail in the other direction?” Waverly asks with a tremble between her words, and Nicole can tell how worried she is at the prospect that it might. 

 

“I’ve dealt with worse than Champ Hardy for less,” Nicole says with a reassuring smile, running her hand down Waverly’s arm and turning back to face her more fully. “If you want me, I’ll be right here, by your side. But if you don’t, all you have to do is say.”

 

“Don’t go,” Waverly answers quickly as she reaches for Nicole’s hand, tethering them together. “Please, I mean. Stay. If you want to.”

 

“Never wanted anythin’ more,” Nicole whispers, and she doesn’t mean to leave the double entendre there, but she doesn’t mind, not with the way she feels Waverly shiver beside her. 

 

And she knows they will need to talk about this, amongst a score of other things, if this tentative friendship is to bloom into something more - about what it will  _ mean _ , and what people will  _ say _  - but it’s not a worry or thought she wishes to leave Waverly with today. 

 

Waverly looks to her as she bites her lip, and for a moment, Nicole thinks she might just risk everything to close her eyes and lean up on her tiptoes, before reason interjects and she exhales shakily, tightening her hand around Nicole’s instead. 

 

The world stops still again, and Nicole has to fight hard against every urge that’s telling her to  _ move _ , because now isn’t the time. Because she wants to kiss Waverly more than she wants to breathe, but  _ now isn’t the time _ . 

 

“As much as I  _ really _ don’t want to,” Nicole says, heavily reluctant to break the moment. “I need to get back to the jail in case the others have any news.”

 

“What if I smile  _ extra _ sweetly?” Waverly asks with a devilish grin that Nicole hasn’t seen before. It’s new, bold, as is the hunger curling her hands around Nicole’s, but she’s definitely not complaining. “Will you stay a little while longer?”

 

“I think I can spare a moment or two,” Nicole replies with a similarly bold grin and a slow drawl as she dares to run her thumb over the top of Waverly’s hand. “Only for you, ma’am.”

 

Waverly positively glows, and she lets out a small sigh of contentment beneath Nicole’s simple touch, and Nicole thinks  _ just wait, just wait until we can be even freer with our touch than a concealed glancing of our hands like this.  _

 

She feels as though Waverly reads her mind for a second, because she shivers again, unprompted, somehow reading the anticipation in the bend of Nicole’s body, and she looks at Nicole with a hunger all over again. 

 

The setting sun coming through the window draws Nicole’s attention away finally, before she turns to Waverly with a soft frown

 

“I  _ really _ must be gettin’ on,” Nicole says quietly, as though keeping their voices low will hold the outside world at an arm's length. 

 

“I know,” Waverly replies easily, although her hold on Nicole doesn’t ease yet. “Will you…do you think you could call by before you retire for the evening? If it’s not too much of an inconvenience? I understand if it is, of course, and I realise I’ve already asked enough of you today…”

 

“Yes,” Nicole says with a quick, keen, exhale, watching the way Waverly breathes in relief at her answer. “I’d love…I mean, if you’ll admit the visit, yes. Absolutely, yes.”

 

“Go on then, Deputy,” Waverly offers as she frees Nicole’s hand with the promise of another visit safe between her fingers instead. “Away with you.”

 

Nicole drops an expression of mock-horror at Waverly’s playful dismissal before she smiles and takes a step backwards, unable to tear her eyes from Waverly just yet. 

 

“Stay safe until then, okay?” Nicole says with a tip of her hat. “I’ll see you before long.”

 

“It already feels too long,” Waverly admits, raising her hands to rest against her own heart as if trying to hold the lingering warmth of Nicole’s touch there. 

 

She knows it’s fast, too fast and too hard and too deep, but Nicole looks at Waverly, to Waverly,  _ into _ Waverly, and she  _ falls _ . 

 

Hard and swift and irreversibly, she falls. 

 

Faintly, Nicole wonders again what the briefest time someone has fallen in love with another heart is, because she thinks this must be a record, surely. 

 

The early evening sky has a special glow to it when she steps outside, an aura Nicole has never seen before, and it’s almost enough for her to miss something  _ off _ , but she catches it. 

 

At the edge of her vision, she catches it. 

 

And it’s so brief that she’s not even sure it’s real, because one second it’s there, a figure at the end of the street she’s  _ sure _ she has never seen before, with a dark halo, a shadow on them she’s  _ also _ sure isn’t real, and the next, it - no,  _ they _  - are gone. 

 

She blinks and shakes her head as she takes step after step in the figure’s direction, or what she thinks the figure’s direction was anyway, but it’s gone. 

 

No figure, no shadow, no halo. 

 

Gone. 

 

If it was even there to begin with. 

 

It could be the heat, and it could be her hunger, or it could be the weight of the day, but Nicole is  _ sure _ it was real. 

 

She walks in the direction she thinks she saw it, blindly, ignoring everything else on the street, lest it distract her before she reaches the end, next to the jail, with nothing more in her line of sight than dust and a low-setting sun. 

 

“You alright there, Deputy?” Nedley asks as he steps outside to meet her, having seen her approach. 

 

“Yeah,” Nicole answers vaguely, still looking around. “I thought I saw something, but I think I’m goin’ mad, because I sure as hell can't see it now.”

 

“You sure?” Nedley questions further, his eyes narrowing before they sweep around the street, following Nicole’s gaze. 

 

“Yeah,” Nicole says, looking to him properly. “Whatever - or whoever - it was is gone now.”

 

“You keep that eye peeled, alright?” he says gruffly before he gestures inside. “Come on in, we’re debriefin’ before nightfall.”

 

They discuss quickly the lack of new information and the plan for tomorrow’s search before Nedley releases them for the day. Nicole assures she’ll keep watch and report back after discussing things with Gus this evening, as well, before she walks down to the baths via the Inn to collect a lighter, softer change of clothes. 

 

As much as she wants to run back to Waverly this instant, she's desperate to rid herself of the dirt and sweat of the day before the baths shut their doors for the evening, and the activity has the added bonus of presenting Waverly with a cleaner version of herself, too, so she heads there first. 

 

She pays the small tariff and takes an extreme pleasure in peeling off the layers of dusty, dirty clothing, trying to smother a groan as she slips into the hot water of the bath. 

 

She’s used to long days riding and being on her feet, but her bones ache with a heavier fatigue tonight, and she finds her eyes fluttering closed after only a few minutes in the hot water. 

 

Determined not to fall asleep and drown, she sets herself about the task of washing her hair out in an attempt to keep her wits about her. She pulls the leather tie off the end of the braid, running her fingers through the ember-red strands before it falls long, well past her shoulders. 

 

She takes a breath and sinks under the level of the water, allowing her back to slide easily along the curve of the steel tub as the water crawls up her cheeks, beneath her eyes, until Nicole is fully submerged. 

 

She stays under the water for a moment, until her lungs start to burn, before she brings her head above the waterline and gasps in a deep breath of relief. 

 

The oxygen makes its way back into her fingertips as she works her hair into a lather using one of the small bars of soap left for her, and it takes her a moment to recognise the familiar smell, but when she does, she blushes. 

 

_ Waverly _ , she thinks as she scratches at her scalp, trying to clean her hair as thoroughly as possible.  _ It smells like Waverly. _

 

Not exactly like her, but soft and light and vaguely botanical.  _ She must make the soaps and sell them to the bathhouse _ , Nicole thinks as she leans her head back against the slightly cool metal of the tub. 

 

She stills for a few minutes, breathing in the soft smell of the soap as she allows her mind to wander to the day, to the moments spent with the young woman. Her behaviour had been a little different today, more  _ charged _ , almost as though she’d found some boldness or courage at the homestead with Wynonna the night before. 

 

Not that Nicole minds - in fact, it’s a clearer signal than she was hoping to receive so early on - that Waverly appears to be interested in her on a level different to the one the outside world would perceive.

 

They’d touched before, quick glances of their hands or their shoulders bumping together gently, but holding Waverly had been something else entirely, and Nicole can’t help but marvel at how perfectly Waverly had fit into the curve of her body. 

 

Because it  _ was _ perfect, everything about the moment had been, from the way she had curled her hands over her own chest and given herself over to Nicole’s embrace, to the way her hands had held the lip of Nicole’s belt. 

 

She’s not sure if that had been intentional, or rather, she’s not sure if Waverly had realised the  _ intimacy _ of the gesture, or how thoroughly it had stopped Nicole’s heart, but it hadn’t been an accident, or mistake, because she’d done it twice. 

 

The thought of her touch low on Nicole’s body and the way the back of her hand had brushed over Nicole’s stomach sends a hot wave into her belly, and  _ deeper _ , before she tries to stop that train of thought, lest it get too far ahead of her. 

 

Because she wants that, she wants everything with Waverly, but it doesn’t feel proper to think such things without Waverly’s permission to, or rather some signal or sign that she might entertain the thought of…

 

_ Stop _ , she thinks to herself.  _ Later. There’ll be time for this later _ . 

 

If Waverly is as interested as Nicole thinks she is, as interested as Nicole is reading from the way she reacts to Nicole’s touch and her presence. There’ll be time later. 

 

She slides beneath the level of the water again, running her fingers through her hair gently as she attempts to untangle a few knots while her hair floats eerily soft around her face, before she raises herself up again. 

 

Running her hands right against her scalp, she wrings as much water out as she can before she lathers the soap in her hands and scrubs one last time at the dirt of the day. 

 

Nicole is pleasantly weary by the time she climbs out and redresses using the lighter items she had fetched - trousers and a light cotton shirt instead of the heavier woolen alternatives, and no vest, to save overheating with her post-bath flush. 

 

She winds Waverly’s bandana around her wrist rather than her neck, reluctant to part with it, before she walks out towards Waverly’s shop and the Inn. 

 

The few top buttons of her shirt are undone, allowing the cool evening air to kiss her hot skin, and she sighs happily at the feeling as she makes her way down the street, the holster and her hat her only other accessories. 

 

She doesn’t bother with her hat, reluctant to get it wet from her still-damp hair, which she’s wound into one long ringlet draped over her shoulder, so she holds it in her hands instead. 

 

She knows it’s not exactly  _ proper _ to be seen not formally dressed, but the evening light is low now, and there are only a few people left wandering the street, none anywhere near her. 

 

She gives the street one long hard look on the off-chance that she catches sight of the shadow or figure she’d seen earlier, but she can’t. There’s nothing to be seen, save the odd slow-walking person, but no one resembling the shape of the thing she thought she had seen before. 

 

Nicole shakes off the ghost whispering at the nape of her neck before she takes a breath and walks towards the white of Waverly’s storefront. 

 

She’s busy wiping down the countertop, her face flushed from the exertion of cleaning up, when Nicole walks in, and honestly, Nicole doesn’t know who’s more taken aback, Waverly or Nicole. 

 

Nicole, because Waverly looks  _ beautiful _ like this, a little out of breath with a soft blush from activity, not shyness or embarrassment, that Nicole knows is not dissimilar to the one that rises during…

 

And Waverly at the soft sight of Nicole in her cotton attire, lighter and quite different to the image of Nicole she’s used to seeing. 

 

She watches Waverly’s eyes move over her hair, flicking to the small sliver of skin on her chest where her shirt sits open, as she stills in her movement, apparently at a loss for words. 

 

“Good evenin’, ma’am,” Nicole says softly, such is the feeling of the air hanging suspended around then both. 

 

“Hi,” Waverly replies a little roughly, still not bothering to hide the unashamed way she takes in  _ this _ version of Nicole. “You’re…you…”

 

“Look different?” Nicole offers for her, eyebrow raised in amusement before she feels a small spike of insecurity and self-consciousness settle between her hands. “I hope it’s not too improper. I didn’t think…”

 

“I love it,” Waverly says quickly, quashing that thought immediately. “You look…”

 

She pauses for a moment as she looks and looks and  _ looks  _ at Nicole, before her gaze finds Nicole’s and  _ holds _ , the light filling the space behind her eyes as she comes to her senses. 

 

“Lovely,” Waverly finishes with a shy smile as she bites her lip and bows her head. “You look  _ lovely _ , Nicole. If I may be so bold.”

 

“Of course you may,” Nicole says, returning Waverly’s blush, dropping her gaze to her hat in her hands for a moment as he collects herself before looking up to Waverly. “You can be anythin’ you’d like.”

 

“You know, with you, I feel like I can,” Waverly returns with a vaguely thoughtful expression before she moves, ducking beneath the counter so she can stand closer to Nicole. “Be anything, I mean.”

 

“I’m glad,” Nicole replies, holding the urge to reach for Waverly’s hand, not wanting to present herself as too forward, or to assume familiarity unless Waverly wants it. “I hope for nothin’ more than for you to feel as though you can be whoever or whatever you wish around me.”

 

“How does it feel like I’ve known you a lifetime already?” Waverly asks distantly as she moves forward to touch Nicole’s arm briefly, looking to assure herself that it’s alright to do so before Nicole smiles and she takes another half-step closer. 

 

“I don’t know,” Nicole returns, watching Waverly’s eyes move over her, as if looking for the answer to her question there, too. “But the feeling is mutual, I assure you.”

 

Waverly looks to her and smiles in soft recognition, and Nicole swears she can feel something old and deep move beneath their skin where Waverly’s touch lingered a moment ago. 

 

“Your hair’s so long,” Waverly breathes as she reaches to touch the wet end of it over Nicole’s collarbone. “It’s… I’ve never seen anythin’ like it before. The colour, I mean. It’s beautiful.”

 

“It’s just hair,” Nicole shrugs shyly, even though she knows she could argue the merits of the fact that Waverly’s own is anything but  _ just hair  _ for hours. 

 

Waverly fixes her with a look that says as much before she reaches forward and winds the final curl of it around her finger in a way that’s the boldest yet, and Nicole’s breath catches with an audible hitch that she  _ knows _ Waverly hears, too. 

 

She tries to smother her reaction, afraid to make her intentions known so openly before she’s sure Waverly is ready to receive them like that, but she knows she can’t hide the  _ sum total  _ of it. 

 

She can hide parts, if she needs, small pieces of the whole, but she can’t hide it  _ all _ . 

 

Not what it  _ does _ to have Waverly so close to her, or how much it increases her heart rate, how much the hunger burns in the pit of her stomach, how hard her pulse skips. Or how tensely her fists ball in an attempt to stop from reaching for something she doesn’t know for  _ sure _ Waverly wants to give her. 

 

And it’s as though Waverly can read her mind in the next moment, can read Nicole’s internal conflict, because just when Nicole is scared to put her soul on the line, Waverly offers her own. 

 

With open palms and the warmest smile Nicole has ever seen before, Waverly offers her  _ hope _ . 

 

“You can, too, you know,” Waverly says as her fingertips slip off the end of a ruby-gold strand of hair, and she flattens her palm ever so lightly against Nicole’s chest. “Be yourself, I mean. Around me, you don’t ever have to be anything but yourself. Because you, just you, it’s…”

 

She can’t breathe, because Waverly’s hand is so light over the place where her soul resides in her body, and not because the touch is oppressive, it’s because she thinks this is Waverly saying  _ yes _ to the unsounded question, of  _ do you think about me in the same way I think about you?  _

 

_ Do you dream of me in the same way I dream about you when the moon is as high as my hope?  _

 

Do you dream, do you dream, do you  _ see _ ? 

 

She feels as though she waits an age for Waverly to finish her thought, not that it matters, because when she utters it, Nicole knows she would have waited a lifetime to hear what she says. 

 

“You don’t ever have to be anything but yourself, because it’s  _ beautiful _ , Nicole,” Waverly says finally, barely above a whisper. “The loveliest thing I’ve ever seen, in fact.”

 

“It is?” Nicole asks in a tone more delicate than she thinks she’s ever uttered before, her hand reaching to rest over Waverly’s own. 

 

“Yes,” Waverly breathes as her smile fills with light at Nicole’s touch. “It  _ is _ .” 

 

It tugs below her navel again, the urge to lean down and press her lips breeze-soft over Waverly’s own, but she knows it’s  _ not quite  _ the right time. 

 

Closer, now. But  _ not yet.  _

 

They breathe the same air for a minute more before Waverly sighs, and she knows they need to draw this to a close, or she’s never going to be able to take herself away. 

 

She doesn’t voice the fact that she needs to take her leave of Waverly for the final time today, because she already knows. From the air that leaves Waverly’s lungs, Nicole can tell she  _ knows _ . 

 

“You’ll be okay here for the night?” Nicole asks, and she wants to offer to sleep on the floor of the shop, like a hound guarding the door, but she knows Waverly would ask, if she were in need. 

 

“I’m going to bolt the door behind you,” Waverly replies softly, smiling at Nicole’s thoughtfulness. “And you’ll be just across the street?” 

 

“Just across the street,” Nicole nods in affirmation as her hand moves over Waverly’s atop her heart. “At your beck and call, alright?”

 

She hears Waverly’s breath catch just the same as her own had the second her touch meets Waverly’s, and she can’t help the small, satisfied smile at having garnered the same reaction that Waverly had drawn from her, too. 

 

It might not be the right time for them to kiss, but Nicole feels as though she needs to leave Waverly with something, some small token like Waverly’s bandana around her wrist, only made of contact. 

 

She casts a quick, but subtle look around her before she takes Waverly’s hand with an exquisite slowness and presses a kiss to her knuckles. 

 

“Good evening, Miss Earp,” Nicole says softly, not bothering to smother the charm she knows she’s capable of producing, watching it bring a fresh blush to Waverly’s cheeks. “Until the morning.”

 

And it could be stepping over a line drawn between them, but she doesn’t think it is, not with the way Waverly bends toward Nicole, nor the sound that escapes her lips. 

 

“The morning,” Waverly breathes, her eyes following the path of Nicole’s lips as she leans back from Waverly to put some small distance between them. 

 

Her hand tightens beneath Nicole’s, as if to hold her close for a  _ second _ longer, because she knows what that means, that Nicole has to leave when she wants her to  _ stay _ . 

 

Nicole runs her thumb over Waverly’s fingers where she holds their hands together before lowering it gently to Waverly’s side and taking a proper step back. 

 

She gives Waverly a wink before she turns, scooping her hat off the counter, before her heart compels her to plant her feet and  _ stay _ , and she glows at the way Waverly follows her step for step to the door, as if her own body were compelling her to follow this new light in its orbit. 

 

She walks through the door, waiting for Waverly to close and bolt it behind her before she bends forward to bow slightly, giving Waverly one last parting smile as she turns on her heel and walks towards the Inn across the street. 

 

Every step away from Waverly makes her heart beat in anticipation of seeing her in the morning, and she’s taken maybe ten before she can’t stand to not turn and catch the sight of Waverly one last time. 

 

She’s waiting with her hand resting against the glass at hip height, as though reaching for Nicole, and she offers Nicole the softest smile she’s ever seen in her life before raising her hand to wave shyly. 

 

Nicole returns the wave with an equal softness, drinking in the sight of Waverly standing like some sort of deity or queen with the sunset glowing off the glass around her and the botanicals hung from the ceiling before she drags herself from the sight, and walks finally to the Inn. 

 

“Good day?” Gus asks with a wry smile as she watches Nicole walk towards her at the desk. 

 

“What?” Nicole replies vaguely, her attention entirely focused on the vision across the road, known by the name of Waverly Earp. 

 

“I said, good day?” Gus asks again with a wider smile as Nicole narrowly avoids walking straight into the desk. 

 

“Oh,” Nicole says when she stubs her toe against the front of the desk. “Pardon me, ma’am — ah, I mean Gus, sorry — I was just…”

 

“Distracted?” Gus finishes for her, her eyebrow raised in amusement. 

 

“Yes,” Nicole returns, shaking her head to clear the fog of Waverly, Waverly, Waverly. “Yes, I’m sorry. My day, it was good, great... and actually darn terrible, too.”

 

“That’s a heck of a lot of emotion for one young woman,” Gus says with a laugh. “Care to talk about any of ‘em?”

 

“Oh,” Nicole asks, a little surprised at the simple idea of someone wanting to hear about her day. “Sure, I mean, if it’s not a bother, or you have somethin’ else you need to be doin’?”

 

“Wouldna’ asked if I did,” Gus replies, smiling at Nicole’s reaction. “Tell me all about it, Deputy.”

 

Nicole recounts her day to Gus with a warm feeling in the palm of her hands, because she can’t remember the last time she had an interaction like this with someone, genuinely interested in her day. 

 

She tells Gus of her morning with Elias and his cattle, to which Gus replies with a similar sigh of relief at her assisting the small boy that the others had, before she comes to the activity surrounding Mr. Jackson. 

 

“Actually, there’s somethin’ I need to talk to you about,” Nicole says with a frown as she threads her fingers together and rests them on the desk in front of her. “You might’ve noticed the confectionary shop closed again today? Well, Nedley and I went and had a look around, because Mr. Jackson came to see us this afternoon, sayin’ his girl hadn’t come home last night.”

 

“Lord, really?” Gus asks, taking the information in. “That girl’s as placid as a sleepin’ hound. She wouldn’t have taken off with some young thing. No way. If she didn’t come home, somethin’s wrong, alright. And you went to look through the shop, does that mean…?”

 

“We think they could be connected,” Nicole replies solemnly. “We all had a look for them both this afternoon, but no one came back with so much as a scrap.”

 

“Good lord,” Gus breathes as she looks to Nicole. 

 

“Nedley asked me to inquire as to whether you might have seen anythin’ out of the ordinary?” Nicole asks, watching Gus’s face carefully. “Anyone out of place or new to town that you hadn’t noticed before? Anyone stayin’ here you haven’t met before now?”

 

“No,” Gus says, shaking her head, her forehead creasing in a frown. “Not a soul. The ones we have stayin’ are all faces I’ve seen before, apart from your own. And I ain’t seen anyone in town out of place, neither.”

 

“I thought you might have mentioned as much to Nedley if you had,” Nicole replies with a sigh. “You’ll keep a watch, though? And let one of us know if you do?”

 

“Of course,” Gus says seriously. “Of course, I will. Missing? Two people missing? Lord help us. And there was nothin’ at the shop?”

 

“Only sign is that wherever she went, she wasn’t plannin’ on being away long,” Nicole returns, worrying her lip as she puts her mind back into the shop. “She left in her shift, I think, judging by the clothes she had laid out for the next day. And there was a cup of tea untouched by the side of the bed.”

 

“Nedley didn’t pick up those details, did he?” Gus asks with a hint of wariness in her voice. “The man’s a good Sheriff, but he’s no Pinkerton.”

 

“Oh. No, ma’am,” Nicole answers with a blush, her gaze dropping back to her hands. “It was…I was the one that noticed them.”

 

Gus’s eyes find hers, and she smiles with a look that says she’s caught Gus by surprise at her talent, and Gus nods, seemingly impressed. 

 

“Well, I’ll be,” Gus says, appraising Nicole. “You’re a details girl as well as everything else, huh? He did an even finer job of hiring you than I thought.”

 

“I’m sure he woulda’ found them eventually,” Nicole tries to reason in an attempt to cool her embarrassed cheeks. 

 

“Probably,” Gus says with a shrug. “But we could’ve been more than a few days down the track by then, and in who knows what state with more missin’ people. I thought we’d seen the last of trouble when Del Rey’s gang left town after Ward died, but obviously not.”

 

“You don’t think it could be them, do you?” Nicole asks suddenly. “The ones that were responsible for…”

 

“No way,” Gus says, shaking her head with a confidence that reassures Nicole. “Those men couldn’t keep themselves hidden like this. Bobo runs on active fear. On bein’  _ present _ . He isn’t one for subtlety. Besides, they were criminals, but even they weren’t sick enough to make a business out of takin’ girls. Willa was an accident. We know that shook even Bobo enough to take his men and run. They wouldn’t dare come back while any of the Earps are still alive and there are people around to remember what happened.” 

 

Nicole hadn’t really thought it could have been them. Even with her minimal knowledge, it doesn’t sound like their style, and she’s sure Nedley wouldn’t have let something like them being suspects pass him by if there was any chance they could have been involved.

 

“Does Waverly know?” Gus asks Nicole with a frown. “Is it a good idea for her to be alone over there with god knows what happenin’ in the dark?”

 

“I told her just before,” Nicole replies, nodding as her mind wanders across the road again. “I didn’t want to scare her, but I want her to be…I didn’t want to hide anythin’ from her. If there’s danger, she deserves to know so she can do everything possible to keep herself safe.”

 

Nicole’s ready to defend herself further if necessary, but she needn’t have worried at the thought, because Gus holds her gaze for a second before she nods approvingly. 

 

“I couldn’t agree more,” Gus says, looking to Nicole. “If there’s danger about, that girl needs to know. She and Wynonna both. She isn’t no child, she doesn’t need anyone makin’ decisions for her.”

 

“I’m glad you agree,” Nicole sighs in relief, the tension in her palms dissipating. “I just…I didn’t want her walking around with some horror in the shadows and her unaware. This way she can be vigilant, just like the rest of us will be.” 

 

“And she was okay to stay by herself even after you told her?” Gus asks curiously. 

 

“I did try and suggest she come over and stay where you could watch over her a little more easily, but…” Nicole says, rubbing at the base of her neck with the heel of her palm. “I waited for her to bolt the door. And I told her all she had to do was holler if she needed me.”

 

“Stubborn as a mule, our Waverly,” Gus says affectionately, smiling. “That’s alright, Deputy. If she was worried, she’d be over here, and it’s not that she’s naive to the danger, she’s just…”

 

“Sick of letting fear rule her?” Nicole finishes for Gus, thinking back to Waverly’s actions in front of Champ earlier, putting two and two together, wondering if maybe she  _ had _ known the danger, but had chosen to show their closeness irrespective of that. 

 

“I think so,” Gus replies, watching Nicole carefully, evaluating the appreciation of Waverly’s character that Nicole seems to have so early on. “You’ve got a read on that girl, huh?”

 

“Uh,” Nicole blushes heavily at Gus’s forwardness before she drops her gaze again. “I mean, I’m sure I could spend a lifetime and not know it all, but I think I have a start.”

 

“A lifetime,” Gus says, eyeing Nicole and continuing her evaluation before she frowns. “You plannin’ on sticking around that long, huh?”

 

“If she’ll have me,” Nicole replies humbly, and she hopes Gus realises how much the power is so very much in Waverly’s hands, despite her own keenness. “Only if she wishes it.”

 

“Not that it’s any of my damn business, but I think you’ll find she does,” Gus returns with a wry smile, and her words make Nicole’s heart jump in her chest. “If there’s one thing I know about that girl, it’s that she doesn’t quiver in the face of something she wants, be it a path or a purpose…or a person.”

 

She’s not sure how to even begin to address a comment like that, because - and she could be very wrong, but - she thinks this could be Gus giving Nicole her permission to pursue whatever relationship Waverly will permit. 

 

And she knows Gus won’t want to be privy to anything beyond knowing that whatever happens will be Waverly’s choice, because she may not be crossing herself as they speak, but Nicole knows her tolerance is only due to her fondness for Waverly, and doesn’t mean acceptance of the  _ inclination _ on the whole. 

 

She’s not interested in making Gus any more uncomfortable than she likely already is, but she does want her to know that Waverly’s safety is paramount for her, regardless of what choice Waverly may make. 

 

“I think your niece’s safety  _ is _ your business, if you’ll permit me to say,” Nicole says respectfully. “And I want to give you an assurance that it’s just as important to me. I’ll keep both eyes on her as often as I can to ensure it, you have my word.”

 

“I know you will, Deputy,” Gus replies thankfully. “I know you will, and I will, too. And I’ll be sure to advise you and the Sheriff if I see anything untoward.”

 

“I’d appreciate that,” Nicole says before a yawn rips its way from her lungs. 

 

“Away with you,” Gus growls kindly as she throws her head towards the kitchen behind her. “Go and get some food and sleep, Deputy. You won’t be good to anyone half-dead tomorrow.”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole returns with a little bow, picking her hat up and pressing it to her chest as she takes her leave of Gus. She turns at the last second with a small smile on her lips before she addresses Gus one last time. “Thank you, Gus.”

 

“For what?” Gus asks, raising an eyebrow in question. 

 

“For takin’ an interest,” Nicole says a little shyly. “It’s been a long time since anybody cared to ask about my day. And for…”

 

“I know,” Gus returns with a nod. “You don’t need to thank me, but you’re welcome, Nicole. Thank you for keepin’ my girl safe.”

 

“Always,” Nicole replies finally, giving Gus a  _ goodnight _ before she dips her head and makes for the kitchen. 

 

She sits and eats in her own company before thanking Gus for the meal and retiring to her room. 

 

It feels different, being in here now, with the knowledge that Waverly stayed here, too. That she slept here, that she  _ dreamed _ here. 

 

She wonders what Waverly used to dream of as she pulls her shirt over her head and exchanges it for a lighter sleepshirt, dropping her pants before she takes a look out the window to her shop. 

 

_ Did she used to dream a young man on a horse would ride up and take her away from all of this? Or a young woman with red hair and a kind heart, instead? _

 

The street is wide, but not so wide that she can’t see with a reasonable clarity the figure of Waverly walking around in a nightdress of her own that Nicole can see finishes at the knees. 

 

Even so far away and through a small glass window lit only by a small number of candles whose glow Nicole can  _ just _ make out, she’s still the most beautiful thing Nicole has ever seen. 

 

As if she can feel Nicole’s attention across the yawning distance between, Waverly looks up and sets her eyes on Nicole’s window, and by some miracle their gazes meet. 

 

She raises her hand and gives Nicole a shy wave, almost identical to the one she had offered earlier in the evening, and it fills Nicole with a warmth that spreads to the tips of her fingers. She returns the gesture softly, and it’s too difficult to know for sure, but Nicole thinks she sees Waverly beam in response. 

 

Waverly waits for a moment, reluctant to take her eyes off Nicole, but she does, sensing perhaps Nicole’s desire to let her know that she’s safe, that she’s being watched over, that Nicole won’t let anything happen to her while she’s sleeping. 

 

She moves around the room, giving Nicole one last look before the room goes black as she blows the last candle out. 

 

Nicole waits for a while, watching the dark street, waiting for any movement or sign of anything malevolent watching for the death of light to appear and take, but nothing comes. 

 

Satisfied of Waverly’s safety, for the moment anyway, Nicole falls onto her bed, her limbs heavy with wariness and the day’s activity, and before she can register another breath, she’s asleep. 

  
  


-


	5. five.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey team!
> 
> Welcome to the weekly instalment of your trip back in time to the old west, get stuck in and enjoy! Feel free to swing by my [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) if you have any questions!
> 
> A massive, huge thanks as always to the best beta in the world, @iamthegaysmurf for not letting me get tied up in knots writing this and for being a never-ending fountain of historical knowledge. 
> 
> x

-

  
  


Nicole wakes early the following morning, before the sun has crept up to the horizon, so she lies in bed a while before she takes herself from its dreamy warmth. 

 

She mentally plans her day, allowing for some interruption, but hoping that, with some luck, she’ll be able to ask Waverly to their arranged date this evening. 

 

There are a few things that need to occur before that can happen: Chrissy helping to find her an appropriate dress for one, and arranging some sort of picnic from Gus for dinner as a second. Despite those things, and the darkness from yesterday’s revelations over the missing girls, Nicole rises with more hope than she’s had in  _ years _ . 

 

She plans to seek Chrissy out early in the day if possible, to give the seamstress time to alter a dress before the evening if they do manage to find something, and to ask Gus when she departs for the day about some small offering of food for tonight. 

 

The thought of dress-shopping makes Nicole feel slightly worried as the pit of nerves digs itself deeper in her stomach. Her conversation with Waverly last night, after her trip to the baths, gives her pause for a moment, that perhaps the image of Nicole as  _ herself _ is enough, that she doesn’t  _ need _ a more feminine appearance. 

 

And what she does know of Waverly tells her that she’ll be positively polite regardless of Nicole’s attire, but she can’t stand the thought of disappointing Waverly if she does have an image of how Nicole will present in her head already. 

 

It can’t do any harm, finding a dress for the evening. It’s not her, in any way shape or form, but it’s a dress. She can wear a dress. She won’t let a dress beat her.

 

It’s not her, in any way, but if it  _ is _ what Waverly wants, it’s a price she’s prepared to pay. 

 

Because she’d burn her hands taking the sun from the sky if Waverly asked it of her, so wearing a dress, next to that, is easier. 

 

But not by much. 

  
  


-

  
  


Gus is nursing a cup of something that smells like a concoction of Waverly’s making when Nicole comes down the stairs, the fragrant smell of peppermint and lemon making its way into her lungs as she walks to greet Gus. 

 

She had glanced over to Waverly’s shop the second she’d raised herself from bed, reassured by the sight of Waverly drawing her hair into a ponytail while still dressed in her nightgown, which, not that Nicole was looking at all, was creeping higher up her thighs as she held her hands over her head. 

 

_ Definitely _ not looking. 

 

And definitely not a cause for the blush still warming Nicole’s cheeks as she talks to Gus. 

 

“Mornin’ Gus,” Nicole offers, spinning her hat a little nervously in her hands as she prepares herself to ask the favour she needs for the evening. 

 

“Mornin’ Deputy,” Gus replies with a smile. “Someone put jumpin’ beans in your bed last night, did they?”

 

“What? Oh, no. No, it’s not…” Nicole says as she registers that Gus is making fun of the visible nervousness in her frame. 

 

“Relax, Deputy, I’m just teasin’,” Gus replies, her smile breaking wider at Nicole before she reaches to still Nicole’s fiddling. “What’s on your mind? There’s a question there, that’s plain to see.”

 

“Uh,” Nicole says before casting a quick glance around to make sure they’re alone. “It’s…it’s about tonight, and Waverly, I mean…”

 

She cringes internally at the way she trips over her own words, and she’s about ready for the earth to swallow her whole, because she’s never been this inarticulate in her life, but the thought of having to ask Gus for help for tonight is doing a  _ fine _ job of making sure that changes. 

 

She takes a deep breath, calming herself properly before she looks square at Gus, who’s trying desperately not to laugh, and tries again.

 

“Let me start over,” Nicole says with a grimace. “I would like to take some small thing to share with Waverly this evening. Food, I mean, if she’ll permit my company. And I’d try and rustle something up myself across town, but I fear I might not have a chance today if I get called away to attend something concerning these disappearances. Could I ask whether you might be able to put something aside from the day that I might take with me?”

 

“Of course, Deputy,” Gus answers easily, smothering a laugh. “You don’t have to sweat a bullet. I trust I don’t need to lecture you on the importance of subtlety when you are together?”

 

“Not at all,” Nicole assures Gus quickly. “If Waverly is amenable, I’ll ensure I’m able to find myself there late, when no one else is around, so no one sees me enter. I’ll… _ we’ll _ be careful, I promise you.”

 

“I believe you, Deputy,” Gus says, nodding as she holds Nicole’s gaze. “I believe you know what you’re doin’, and I believe you’ll protect Waverly, too. As much as the girl’ll let you, anyway.”

 

“She’s got an iron will, huh?” Nicole asks with a smile, thinking of the strength in Waverly’s voice when she’d spoken to Champ the night before. 

 

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Gus confirms, her eyes wide. “Although, you’ll have a good idea of it soon, if you don’t already.”

 

“I’ve seen a glimpse or two,” Nicole laughs softly. “I think it’s wonderful, that she knows what she wants enough to have conviction around it. That’s a quality I’ve found to be reasonably absent for others of our own age.”

 

“She’s always been an old soul, our Waverly,” Gus says with a fond sigh. “I always worried what that would mean about attractin’ a partner. No boy wants a girl who’s not interested in babies and knitting, and Waverly certainly never had a mind for either of them, but…”

 

_ But I don’t think what a boy wants matters to her at all _ , goes unfinished between the two of them, and Nicole has to stop and appreciate for a moment the simple fact that Gus and Curtis haven’t ignored that and pushed her towards a man, as so many parents would have instead. 

 

“Anyway, it’s no trouble at all,” Gus says, changing the subject a little awkwardly. “I’m sure I can put together a few scraps for the two of you.”

 

“Thank you,” Nicole replies appreciatively as she smiles warmly to Gus. “I’m grateful for the trouble.”

 

“No trouble at all,” Gus returns with a rare softness, and Nicole can’t help but think she might be a little thankful of someone taking an interest in Waverly, even it is a different someone to whom they might have preferred. “Grab yourself some breakfast before you leave, will you? It’s gonna be a hot day today, I think you’ll need it.”

 

“Yes ma’am,” Nicole says playfully, dipping her head and catching a soft note of the tea Gus is drinking. “That smells incredible. Is that…?”

 

“Waverly’s making?” Gus answers with a proud note. “Sure is. Clever thing that she is, makin’ me something that tastes as good as this, even with the things for my aching bones. Tricking me into doctorin’ myself.”

 

“That’s sweet of her,” Nicole says in reply. “I think that’s sweet of her.”

 

“She makes a good brew, that’s for sure,” Gus returns, nodding. “And this stuff doesn’t even have booze in it. She keeps the other out on the homestead and has Wynonna bring in a small amount at a time to stop anyone catching a whiff of it and destroyin’ that shop of hers to get it. Somethin’ to look forward to, when she takes you out there.”

 

There’s an assumed ease in the way she says that, like it’s a certainty and not a possibility, that makes Nicole’s heart skip, and she has to bite her lip to stop from smiling too wide.

 

Because if Gus thinks that Waverly would take her  _ home _ , then that must mean Gus has some sort of indication or inclination as to how or what Waverly is feeling, and it must be good. 

 

“I’ll look forward to that, for sure,” Nicole says as her limbs tingle with something that can only be happiness. 

 

She casts an eye outside, sighing at the height of the sun, before she turns back to Gus with a resigned smile. “I’d better get goin’ for now, but thank you again. I’ll see you a little later on?”

 

“Sure will,” Gus replies with a wink. “And I’ll be sure to find one of your lot if I see anythin’ out of the ordinary, too.”

 

“I’d appreciate it, Gus,” Nicole returns finally, bidding Gus goodbye and collecting something small to eat before she heads out and across the road to wish Waverly good morning. 

 

The door is closed, but Nicole can see Waverly walking down the stairs at the back of the shop, and she beams when she sees Nicole walking towards her, hurrying to the door to let Nicole in. 

 

She’s wearing a crisp white shirt this morning, tucked into a long grey skirt, with her hair up in a high ponytail and her apron knotted roughly around her waist, as if tied in haste, and Nicole forgets herself for a moment when Waverly unbolts the door, completely lost in the sight of her. 

 

“Good morning, Deputy,” Waverly says warmly, almost shyly, pulling the door open for Nicole to step in before she shuts it behind her. 

 

She doesn’t move back, though -- she doesn’t widen the space between them, staying close to Nicole’s side instead -- looking over Nicole’s figure as if trying to convince herself that the Nicole in her presence is real. 

 

“A fine mornin’ it is, too,” Nicole replies once her senses return to her and she can smile charmingly back at Waverly, feeling the smaller girl’s warmth radiating towards the bare skin of her arms where they stand a handspan apart. “Did you sleep well? Are you well?”

 

“Very,” Waverly says with a nod, not taking her eyes off of Nicole for a second. “Better than I have in a long time, actually.”

 

“I’m glad,” Nicole returns warmly as she looks over Waverly’s face, soft and fresh in the morning light. “Do you not sleep well normally?”

 

“Not often, no,” Waverly answers, and Nicole could kick herself when she sees the shadow cross Waverly’s face, her words obviously bringing something dark to the forefront of her mind. 

 

“I’m sorry, Waverly,” Nicole says quickly, reaching for Waverly’s hand in an attempt to comfort her. “I didn’t mean to…”

 

“Oh, you didn’t,” Waverly replies with a swiftness, shaking her head before squeezing Nicole’s hand in reassurance. “No, I mean, I don’t sleep well, but you didn’t…I can talk about it. With you, I mean. I can talk about it with you.”

 

“You’re sure?” Nicole asks softly, running her thumb over Waverly’s hand. “Because I’d never… I’d never want to upset you, Waverly. If there’s anything you don’t feel comfortable talkin’ about…”

 

“It’s okay,” Waverly says as a shy smile turns the edge of her mouth up. “I mean, I don’t think there’s much I couldn’t,  _ wouldn’t _ want to discuss with you.”

 

“I’m glad,” Nicole offers with a blush of her own. “I’m glad. And I’m sorry about your sleep. If there’s ever any assistance or comfort I could provide — god, not like  _ that _ — I mean…”

 

“I know what you mean,” Waverly says, laughing at Nicole’s slip. “And I think you’re helping already, I mean, it was nice, knowin’ you were just across the way. I felt safer than I have in a long time.”

 

“I’m pleased I could, I  _ can _ , be of assistance,” Nicole says before she remembers what she had actually come with the intention of asking. “Speaking of providing you with a distraction, I wondered whether tonight would be amicable… I mean, if you would be free tonight to…”

 

She’s almost through her sentence when a woman bursts through the door next to them, prompting them to step back and apart to admit the woman into the shop. 

 

“I’m terribly sorry, Waverly,” the woman says apologetically to them both. “Mornin, Deputy. I don’t mean to interrupt, nor bother you so early, but that damn boy of ours ate somethin’ yesterday that’s upset his gut all night. Might you have somethin’ to help him? Somethin’ perhaps to settle his stomach?”

 

“Of course,” Waverly says quickly as she drops Nicole’s hand, still having held it subtly at their sides when the woman had come in, to tie her apron more firmly around her waist. “Do you need me to come out to the house, or…”

 

“No, I wouldn’t want to trouble you,” the woman says, shaking her head. “I think he’ll be fine, although I’ll be sure to fetch you if whatever you’ve got don’t work.”

 

It’s something, watching Waverly move so quickly into her role as a healer, and Nicole could stand content and watch it for hours, but she knows she’s in the way. She’s about to excuse herself, to move out of Waverly’s path so she can help, when Waverly’s hand, soft on her forearm, stops her. 

 

“I’m sorry,” she says as she gestures to the woman with an apologetic breath before her hand tightens. “But, yes. To your question. Yes. Absolutely, yes.”

 

“Yes?” Nicole asks hopefully, her blood warming in her arm beneath Waverly’s touch. 

 

“Yes,” Waverly returns with a shy look to where their skin meets before looking up to Nicole with a nervous excitement. “Yes. You’ll…”

 

“Call later,” Nicole affirms, nodding as she smiles in return. “I’ll call on you later.”

 

Waverly doesn’t say anything in return, just closes her hand tighter around Nicole’s arm in anticipation, before she relaxes it and takes a step back. 

 

“Well wishes to your boy,” Nicole says to the anxious woman standing by the door, who softens and smiles at Nicole. “I hope he’s feelin’ much better soon.”

 

“Waverly Earp’s magic,” the woman says, her voice a little less strained as she watches Waverly move behind the counter, collecting things in her hands before she starts crushing them together in a small mortar. “He’ll be fine in no time, I’m sure. I appreciate the well wishes, though, Deputy.”

 

Waverly spins at the mention of her name, and Nicole can’t help but admire her in that moment, so well learned and obviously respected for more than her polite company, for someone with barely two decades of experience. 

 

Nicole’s seen a number of healers and the like in her line of duty, necessary as medical assistance often is to her work, and although she doesn’t know the full extent of Waverly’s abilities, she can tell she’s already more competent than a number of women and men who have seen fifty years. 

 

She gives Nicole one last smile before she turns to the woman, explaining what she’s doing and how she needs to prepare the brew when she gets home, and Nicole smiles back before she slips away and leaves the two women to it, with the plan confirmed for their evening glowing in the small of her back. 

 

Now all she has to do is find a damn dress. 

  
  


-

  
  


Nicole’s a little worried she’ll be the last one there, having been happily waylaid at Waverly’s shop, but it’s only Nedley, Chrissy, and the other yawning deputy finishing his night shift when she arrives. 

 

“Mornin’, Haught,” Nedley says as Chrissy moves to give her a quick hug in greeting. “Thanks for bein’ here so early.”

 

“Of course, sir,” Nicole says, looking to him seriously when Chrissy steps back. “Any updates?”

 

“Nothin’,” Nedley replies, sounding more than frustrated. “Not a damn thing. Did you have a chance to speak to Gus?”

 

“I did, sir,” Nicole answers quickly. “Asked whether she’d seen anyone she didn’t recognise, or had visitors she didn’t recognise, but she said she only had the regulars, and hadn’t seen anyone else around town, either. She’s going to keep an eye out for us if she does see anythin’, but no, she didn’t have any new information.”

 

“And you didn’t see anythin’ else?” Nedley asks, referring to the figure Nicole had mentioned before they’d parted yesterday. “No sign of anythin’ unusual?”

 

“No, sir,” Nicole replies regretfully, taking in the increasingly worried look on his face. “But we’ve got a whole day of light to search now.”

 

“Right you are,” Nedley replies with a little more hope in his voice. “Right you are, Haught. I think I’ll send you out on patrols in shifts today, reportin’ back every few hours, just in case anyone finds somethin’, to keep our eyes fresh.”

 

“Sounds good to me, sir,” Nicole says, nodding as she tries to offer some small condolence or comradeship to the man. 

 

And Nicole feels for him, she really does, because irrespective of the fact that this is in no way his fault, the responsibility lies heavily on him as Sheriff to keep the town safe, which, in the town’s eyes, he will be failing in.

 

“Daddy,” Chrissy says quietly, taking a step towards him, placing her hand softly on his arm. “I know you’re all busy, and I don’t want to take anyone away, but…”

 

“Right,” Nedley says with a frown. “Right you are, love, I’d forgotten. Haught, I don’t want to make you feel like a babysitter, and if you want to patrol first, that’s your call, but Chrissy needs a few things from town, and I’m reluctant… I mean, I don’t want to leave her alone.”

 

“You want me to go with her, sir?” Nicole asks, trying not to sound too eager, because this would potentially give them an excuse to look in at the seamstress’s together that she wasn’t sure how she was going to wrangle otherwise, and without the dirt of the desert on her yet, too. 

 

“I don’t want you to feel as though I’m only askin’ because you’re a woman,” Nedley says with a worried frown. “You know it’s not that, don’t you? It’s just that Chrissy feels more comfortable with you than any of the others, and it’ll be less of a chore for you than it will be for one of the men.” 

 

“Of course,” Nicole replies warmly, looking to Chrissy. “Of course, sir. I’d be happy to.”

 

Chrissy beams at Nicole’s response before she walks to Nicole’s side. “I really am sorry to be a bother, but I’m just a little…”

 

_ Scared _ , falls unfinished between the three of them, and Nicole only needs to take one look at her to know that, while it might be convenient, and Chrissy might not have wanted or needed anything in town, and thus not  _ needed _ an escort, she is genuinely afraid to be alone. 

 

“I promise it won’t take long,” Chrissy says with a grateful smile and a small wink at Nicole. “Then I can get you back here to join the others.”

 

“It’s no bother at all, Chrissy,” Nicole offers kindly. “It’d be my pleasure.”

 

She watches Chrissy sigh in relief before she turns to give her father a kiss on the cheek. “We’ll be back soon, Daddy. Did you need anythin’ while we’re out?”

 

“I’m fine, darlin’,” Nedley says softly, in a voice he seems to reserve for Chrissy alone, and it lightens Nicole’s heart, watching their fondness for each other in a time where men showing gentility towards their daughters is, as she has seen it, the exception and not the rule. “Thanks for askin’. And you’re okay to go with Nicole? Because I can…”

 

“We’ll be fine,” Chrissy says easily to her father before she pats him on the arm. “I’ll keep Nicole nice and safe, right, Deputy?”

 

“Right you are, ma’am,” Nicole laughs softly in return, Chrissy walks to her, and Nicole holds her arm out for Chrissy to take, which she does happily. “Where to first?”

 

“Well,” Chrissy says just loud enough for the others to hear. “I have to call by the seamstress’s for a moment, and the general store, and maybe a few other places if you’re not bored stiff by then?”

 

“How could I be, with company such as yours?” Nicole says kindly, and Chrissy beams at the compliment as they step outside on the street together. 

 

She gives her father one last small wave before she accepts Nicole’s arm again and they make their way down the street. They walk a few paces away from the jail, just out of anyone else’s hearing, when Chrissy turns to her with a playful smile. 

 

“So,” Chrissy asks her quietly, grinning coyly as she tugs on Nicole’s arm. “How was Waverly this morning?” 

 

“How did you…?” Nicole asks with a confused and slightly worried frown, because Chrissy had been at the jail when she’d arrived, how had she known? “Am I that…”

 

“No,” Chrissy says quickly, smirking at Nicole’s response. “You smell like her, silly. Like the shop, I mean. All sweet and botanical like.”

 

“Oh,” Nicole says as she forces her pulse to slow a little before she speaks again. “Oh, that’s good. I was worried you’d… I mean, I’d…”

 

“You’re fine,” Chrissy reassures Nicole with a soft touch to her forearm. “Although, blushing’ like that is a damn good way to give yourself away, Deputy.”

 

“I know,” Nicole says, frowning to herself. “I know. I’m not normally so reactive, I promise, I’m just… I’m nervous, I think. About this evening, and findin’ a damn dress, and all this disappearance business.”

 

“I’ve said it before, but I’m sure Waverly will be over the moon to see you in your own clothes,” Chrissy offers kindly. “In fact, I know she will. God’s truth, the girl hasn’t missed an opportunity to talk about you once since you arrived in town.”

 

“I know she’ll be complimentary regardless of what I’m wearin’, but I don’t want her to be disappointed is all,” Nicole says with a frown. “If she really doesn’t mind, then I can be myself the next time, but I don’t… I’d just rather fail on the side of formality, if you take my meaning?”

 

“Of  _ course _ I do,” Chrissy replies, nodding as she looks to Nicole. “And it’s more than sweet of you to be so worried about her reaction like that, so if you want a dress, then I’d be more than honoured to help you out.”

 

“I can’t tell you what a weight lifted it is to have you be so kind,” Nicole sighs in relief. “I mean it, Chrissy. I don’t know what I’d do without you. And thank you, too, for askin’ me out with you. I was startin’ to fret I wouldn’t be able to manage it.”

 

“Don’t worry your head about it,” Chrissy says with a wide smile. “I had a plan cookin’ as soon as you mentioned it last night. I don’t take advantage of it often, but Daddy’s more than a little soft on anythin’ I ask of him since Mother passed. I thought I’d ask for an escort, and if you wanted, we’d call in, and if not, it’d be a quick trip.”

 

Nicole’s more than a little blown away at the forethought, and she resolves so do something special in order to show Chrissy how thankful she is, for her thoughtfulness and for helping her. 

 

“That is incredibly kind of you,” Nicole offers with a soft smile. “And an impressive amount of forethought, Miss Nedley. You would do well to think of a future usin’ that brain of yours.”

 

“You think so?” Chrissy asks, her brow turned up in surprise at Nicole’s comment.

 

“I really do,” Nicole affirms with a tone of conviction in her voice that makes Chrissy glow. “I think it would be a shame not to use it.”

 

“Most of the time people either think I’m simple for bein’ a woman, and quiet,” Chrissy says, bowing her head a little shyly at Nicole’s compliment. “But I’d like very much to do somethin’ like you, Miss Haught. Not based on what men tell me I should or shouldn’t do. In fact, I’ve had a fancy towards the law since I was old enough to understand what it was. Not the active part that you and Daddy do - I know I’d be  _ dreadful _ at that - but the written part of it, I’ve always had an interest in.”

 

“Law, huh? I think pursuing your interest in that is a fine idea,” Nicole replies kindly. “A fine idea, Miss Nedley. I think you would excel at anything you put your mind to.”

 

“Well, thank you kindly, Deputy,” Chrissy says with a small bow at Nicole’s side. “That’s very sweet of you. Perhaps I’ll ask Daddy if he might try and help me find some reading material. If he doesn’t lock me in my room, or send me straight to church for the simple suggestion.”

 

That gives Nicole an idea, a way to show Chrissy how grateful she is for her friendship, and she smiles before Chrissy leads them up to the seamstress and dressmaker’s, and Nicole’s nerves drive everything else out of her head. 

 

“Danger’s no problem, but tryin’ on a dress makes you nervous?” Chrissy asks her curiously when she hears Nicole exhale shakily at her side. 

 

“Yes, it damn well does,” Nicole replies through gritted teeth, eyeing the store warily, as if it contained some dangerous animal or unnatural threat.  

 

“Well, lucky you’re with me then,” Chrissy says easily, taking Nicole’s hand, and all but dragging her inside. “Because this doesn’t scare me one bit.”

 

The shop is quaint, but filled with so many dresses Nicole doesn’t even know where to look, let alone start, and one smiling woman roughly the age Nicole guesses Chrissy’s mother would be if she were alive, at the end of the store, who calls to Chrissy and beams at seeing her walk in. 

 

“Miss Nedley,” the woman says warmly as Chrissy presses a kiss to her cheek. “How good it is to see you.”

 

“And you,” Chrissy replies, smiling widely when the woman takes Chrissy’s hands in her own. “I’m sorry I haven’t been in as of late. Daddy’s been busy, and…”

 

“Don’t worry your head about it,” the woman says with a wave of her hand. “It’s fine to see you here now. And tell me, who might your escort be? Not your father’s new deputy?”

 

“One and the same,” Chrissy replies, dropping the woman’s hands so she can pull Nicole, standing back a little, to the forefront of the conversation. “Miss Jessie, I have the pleasure of introducing you to Nicole Haught.”

 

“The pleasure’s mine,” Nicole says as she reaches forward to shake the seamstress’s hand. “You have a lovely shop.”

 

“I think you’ll find it  _ is _ mine, Deputy,” Miss Jessie says with a smile. “I’ve heard a number of good things around town about you already, and that’s not an easy thing to achieve here where everyone’s as foul-tempered as an old mule at times.”

 

“That’s kind of them to say,” Nicole replies, blushing slightly as she drops the woman’s hand. 

 

“Kindness earned,” she says with an approving nod before she looks back to Chrissy. “Especially if you have our Chrissy here on your side. She’s an eye for a good soul, this one.”

 

“So I’ve heard,” Nicole returns with a fond look to Chrissy. 

 

“Now, what brings the two of you here today?” she asks with a glance between Chrissy and Nicole. “Surely not  _ just _ pleasant conversation?”

 

“Well... that, too,” Chrissy offers charmingly, threading her arm through Nicole’s. “But, no, we do have a purpose, Miss Jessie. We need to find Deputy Haught here a dress.”

 

“Of course,” the woman says with a smile, no hint of teasing or alluding to the fact that Nicole would look ridiculous in one, turning around Nicole to take stock of her frame instead. “Of course, Deputy. I’d be delighted to assist. Did you have anythin’ you were wanting specifically, or…?”

 

Nicole throws a desperate  _ help me _ glance to Chrissy, who steps in to talk to Miss Jessie for a moment, patting Nicole reassuringly on the arm. They debate a few styles before the seamstress walks around the room, collecting a few things over her arm, and walks back to Nicole. 

 

“I think these’ll suit your colouring and frame,” she says objectively as she looks Nicole up and down again, biting her lip in thought. “I’ll look to see if I’ve got anythin’ else while you try these on.”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole replies, following the woman behind a screen divider. Nicole watches as she drapes the two dresses in her arms over the top of the divider before she walks away, asking Chrissy a couple additional questions as she sorts through a few more styles. 

 

Nicole starts peeling her clothes back as she kicks her boots off: her vest, then woolen pants, before she shrugs her shirt off, leaving her in her underthings. She peers around the side of the divider, not quite sure how to approach this next part by herself. 

 

The seamstress catches her look of distress and walks over quickly with a kind smile to assist. She instructs Nicole to slip her undershirt off and leave only her drawers on while she waits off to the side to give her some privacy, before she tells Nicole to try and thread her arms through and pull the dress on over her head. 

 

She manages to do as asked, with some difficulty, before she’s in the dress enough for the seamstress to move behind her and help with the last few adjustments, fastening the stays at Nicole’s back to hold it closed. 

 

She leads Nicole over to a mirror so she can check her appearance in the first dress, a long, olive green, with a small flare of petticoat at the bottom. She has a frown prepared, ready to scowl at her own appearance, expecting the worst, but she’s more than a little surprised to see how good the dress looks. 

 

It’s a completely different appearance from her usual daily image, but it’s not, as she had worried, absolutely ridiculous. 

 

“Oh, Nicole,” Chrissy breathes in admiration, watching Nicole in the mirror before she walks to Nicole’s side. “You look  _ lovely _ .”

 

And she has to admit, she really doesn’t look terrible. She’s uncomfortable as heck, but she looks okay. Good, even. It’s not an overly formal dress at all; it’s practical, but lovely. More suited for a day spent socialising than working, but not by a great deal, which Nicole feels much more comfortable in compared to some of the more extravagant dresses she can see around her. 

 

“You certainly do, Deputy,” the seamstress says as she walks behind Nicole, drawing in a few of the darts to tighten it around her slim waist. “The green suits you. A few alterations, and I think that’ll do nicely. Although, you could humour us and try the blue on, if you wanted? Don’t bother with the grey, I think it’ll be too dull in comparison to those.”

 

“If you think so?” Nicole asks unsurely as she spins to look at the others. “I mean, I think this one will do just fine, but…”

 

“Try the blue,” Chrissy says with an excited jump in her voice. “Please.” 

 

Nicole gives them both a quick nod before she turns to allow Miss Jessie to unfix the fastenings so she can pull the gown off over her head. 

 

“Do you plan to wear your hair up or down, Deputy?” Miss Jessie asks as she waits for Nicole to appear from behind the screen again. 

 

“I’m not sure,” Nicole says with a nervous waver in her voice, because god, she hadn’t even thought of that. “Down? Maybe down? What do you think?”

 

“Down,” they both say in unison, before Miss Jessie’s voice separates out. “It’d be a shame not to, with that lovely colour of yours. Nothin’ too fancy, just a simple style will do. Does it behave when it dries?”

 

“More or less,” Nicole answers as she finishes straightening the skirt of her second dress before she takes a breath and walks out to show the others. “It normally sets reasonably straight if I leave it unbraided after I bathe.”

 

Nicole steps away from the screen to showcase the second dress, however the two women waiting for her don’t say a word, staring at her instead with a dumbstruck expression on their faces. 

 

She’s about to move back out of sight, embarrassed by how obviously terrible it must be for them to fall silent when they’d been talkative just a moment ago, when Chrissy finally speaks. 

 

“Good  _ Lord _ ,” she says with wide eyes, reaching for Nicole’s arm to pull her in front of the mirror. “You look…”

 

“Awful?” Nicole asks with her eyes fixed shut, too afraid to look at herself. “Ridiculous?” 

 

“I’m not sure gorgeous does you justice, darlin’, but it’s the closest I can think of at the moment,” Miss Jessie says in amazement as she moves behind Nicole, smoothing down the skirt and pulling it in at the waist again, tightening the fit slightly. 

 

She almost doesn’t recognise the figure standing in front of her, even with her her hair pulled back in its braid. She’s tall and soft and ladylike, the deep blue complimenting the red of her hair, the tapered middle and fitted bodice and sleeves accentuating her slim figure, and the length of the skirt highlighting her stature. 

 

Chrissy walks behind her before she comes in close to Nicole’s side, looking up at her hair before gesturing vaguely to the woven strands. “May I? Take it down, I mean? Just so we can see? I can help you retie it before we leave.”

 

“Sure,” Nicole says a little hesitantly, but one glance at Chrissy soothes her a little. “If you think I should?”

 

“Absolutely,” the seamstress says, looking more than pleased with her handiwork, now alive on Nicole’s body. “If you don’t mind us playin’ dolls with you, love. It’s not often I get a figure like yours in one of my dresses. I’d like to see what the full picture looks like, if you’d be so kind as to oblige me?”

 

“Of course,” Nicole says pliantly, bending a little to Chrissy’s slightly shorter reach so she can pull the leather tie loose as the seamstress moves around Nicole’s waist, pinning small sections in. 

 

Chrissy threads her fingers into the length of Nicole’s braid as Nicole watches their reflection in the mirror, before Chrissy pulls gently, and the long red strands fall loose at Nicole’s shoulders.

 

Miss Jessie whistles approvingly, standing back with her hands on her hips as she surveys Nicole’s completed reflection while Chrissy takes a step back, as well, to do the same. 

 

If she almost didn’t recognise herself before, she  _ really _ doesn’t now. 

 

Her hair falls down free, well past her shoulders, shiny and clean without the influence of the dust and dirt of the day clinging to it yet. There’s a soft wave through it, too, the result of having braided it still a little damp before she’d fallen asleep last night. 

 

Miss Jessie’s right. She could hardly have found someone better to fill the dress out, nor natural tone to complement the colour.

 

“Gorgeous  _ definitely _ doesn’t do you justice, my dear,” Miss Jessie says with a pleased smirk, crossing her arms over her chest. “Do you like it?”

 

“I guess so,” Nicole replies a little awkwardly as she wrings her hands together. Because she agrees, she does look lovely,  _ beautiful _ even. But she doesn’t look like  _ her _ . “I mean…”

 

“I think you look  _ beautiful _ , Nicole,” Chrissy says as she slips her arm through Nicole’s in a quietly reassuring gesture, sensing her unease. “I think it’ll be perfect. If you still want it, that is.”

 

The seamstress senses Nicole’s hesitation and Chrissy’s quiet tone, and, much to Nicole’s relief, she backs away, giving the two of them a small moment of privacy together. 

 

“You’re not sure?” Chrissy asks her softly. “You know you don’t have to do anythin’, Nicole. What I said to you this mornin’ still stands. I’m sure she’ll love you in whatever you choose to wear.”

 

And god, she’s so torn. 

 

Because on one hand, she does look nice,  _ really _ nice, and if this  _ is _ what Waverly wants, a more feminine look for Nicole during the hours she’s not at work, then a dress like this is almost certain to turn her head. 

 

But, on the other hand, it’s  _ just not her. _

 

And it’s so hard, because her feelings for Waverly are  _ so _ strong that she could do it, she  _ could _ change that part of herself if it was what Waverly really wanted. 

 

But she’s not sure if that’s  _ right _ . 

 

“Nicole,” Chrissy says gently after a minute, bringing Nicole out of her reverie. “Are you okay? Is everythin’…”

 

“It’s okay,” Nicole replies, shaking her head to clear the mental fog as her eyes fall on the stranger in the mirror. “I’m okay, my apologies, I’m just not used to seein’ myself look like this, I guess.”

 

“You really don’t have to do this if you’re not comfortable enough in it,” Chrissy offers quietly once she knows Miss Jessie is out of earshot. “I mean, you look absolutely  _ beautiful _ , Nicole, but you should only do this if you feel alright doin’ it. Waverly’ll understand either way. You know she will.”

 

And Chrissy’s right, she knows Waverly will, but she doesn’t want to give Waverly Earp her  _ okay _ . She wants to give Waverly Earp her greatest dream. 

 

And she’s crazy not to do this, to dress in the way society expects of her for Waverly, at least once. And if it  _ is _ what Waverly wants, what she’s expecting of and from Nicole, then they’ll cross that bridge when they come to it. 

 

“No,” Nicole says with a resigned smile. “I will, at least once. For her. Besides, it does look okay, doesn’t it?”

 

“Okay?” Miss Jessie says with a wry smile as she walks back over to the both of them. “Lord, girl, you look like the belle of the damn ball.”

 

“Thank you, ma’am,” Nicole responds with a blush, dropping her head in embarrassment. “That’s fair kind of you.”

 

“My pleasure, Miss Haught,” the seamstress says easily. “So, have you made your decision?”

 

“Yes,” Nicole replies, exhaling nervously as she looks to Miss Jessie with a smile. “I’ll take it.”

  
  


-

  
  


They leave the seamstress’s with a promise that the dress will be ready for Nicole to call back and collect by the afternoon, ready for her evening plans with Waverly, and Nicole feels so much lighter for the relief in having found something to wear, even if she’s not  _ completely _ certain how she feels about it. 

 

Chrissy’s comforting presence at her side makes her feel a little better, too, and she reassures Nicole again once they step out onto the street, that even with the dress in hand later that afternoon, there was still no expectation on her to wear it if she didn’t feel enough like herself in it. 

 

Nerves aside then, and based on the small confidence garnered from Miss Jessie and Chrissy’s reactions, Nicole finds herself a little excited to see what Waverly will think of her in the dress, too. 

 

The thought of Waverly sends Nicole’s mind in a spin of its own, because she’s been so focused on the practical side of being ready for the evening, that she hasn’t put much thought into actually being nervous for the event. 

 

Until  _ now _ . 

 

Because they’ve more than enjoyed each other's company in the small moments they’ve managed to steal together over the last few days, but they have the whole evening ahead of them tonight. Potentially hours. 

 

She’s going to be with Waverly Earp. 

 

Alone. 

 

For  _ hours _ . 

 

And it’s not that she’s expecting anything to happen, per se, because someone like Waverly Earp deserves to be courted.  _ Properly courted _ . 

 

And Nicole can’t  _ wait _ to potentially have the chance. 

 

The fact still stands, though, that they’ll have the entire evening together. To talk, to  _ learn _ , about everything Waverly wants to share, and in return to know about Nicole. 

 

Alone. 

 

She’s going to be  _ alone _ with Waverly Earp. For  _ hours _ . 

 

Where they can sit close, and maybe touch occasionally, and Nicole can look, she can  _ see _ , without having to monitor or watch her every move, lest someone else see something they absolutely should not. 

 

She’s going to be alone with Waverly Earp. And good  _ God _ , all of a sudden, she’s nervous about it. 

 

_ Cripplingly _ nervous about it. 

 

And she’s done this before - courted before, dated before - but that had been completely in the dark, without so much as a soul to speak to it about, because if  _ she _ found out, if  _ she _ caught so much as a  _ hint _ that someone might have known, it would have been over. 

 

Nicole doesn’t blame her, not really, because fear drives people to do things they would never ordinarily consider. Fear trumps reason. Fear is louder than love, for some. 

 

It was for  _ her _ at least. 

 

So Nicole’s only ever courted in secret before, not ever asking another for advice, because she didn’t have any other choice. It was easier then, to know that what she was doing was just  _ okay _ , or that it was the best she could do, anyway, because she could only rely on herself. 

 

And there were no expectations before, because  _ she _ hadn’t ever courted before either, and they’d been younger, not by much, but some small amount. Small, but large enough for Nicole to know how wrong they were for each other with a few years of hindsight under her belt. 

 

But now she has Chrissy, and Chrissy can  _ talk _ to Waverly. They’re not bound by some societal gag-order, not completely anyway. And they’ll have expectations, however well-meant or excitement-born, and not intentionally difficult, but there. 

 

And it makes Nicole that much more nervous, because she wants to meet them all. She wants to give Waverly everything she’s never had, and everything she doesn’t know she wants. 

 

Waverly. 

 

That’s  _ why _ the stakes are so high, that’s  _ why _ the nervousness is now bubbling in the pit of her stomach. Because for the first time in a  _ long _ time, Nicole has a great deal to lose. 

 

And that’s a huge worry to her, but it’s incredible, too. 

 

Because she has Waverly. Well, she has the  _ potential _ of Waverly. 

 

She has something she already knows she would lay almost anything on the line for. That she knows soon enough, she will lay  _ everything _ on the line for, the second she has an indication that Waverly might reciprocate her feelings in any small way. 

 

Because that’s who Nicole is; she’s loyal to a fault, and devoted, and she loves,  _ deeply _ , and she knows she’s good at those things because  _ she _ had loved them,  _ she _ had fallen hard for Nicole’s everything, before fear got the better of her. 

 

She will give everything to Waverly, and more, more than she could before, when she was younger, because she’s older and wiser now, and she knows more. 

 

_ If _ that’s what Waverly wants. 

 

_ If _ Waverly doesn’t let fear get the better of her. 

 

Nicole doesn’t think Waverly will, not with the small display she had seen in front of Champ, but being subjected to hatred, pure hatred, is hard. And Nicole doesn’t think you know how anyone is going to react to being subjected to that until they are. 

 

She thinks Waverly is stronger than that, though. Braver. 

 

For the better or worse of it, Waverly has  _ endured _ . Waverly has courage. 

 

More so than Nicole feels like she has in this moment, that’s for sure. 

 

“You’re a million miles away, huh?” Chrissy asks, bringing Nicole out of her head again as they stand outside the General Store. 

 

“I’m sorry, Chrissy,” Nicole replies with a frown, admonishing herself. “God, I’m so sorry. I’m just… I’m nervous for tonight. I wasn’t before, but I hadn’t really let myself think about it, in the event nothin’ happened. But now it is, and I’m…  _ Lord, _ I’m nervous.”

 

“Again I say, you can walk into danger, but courtin’ one tiny young woman, and you’re afraid,” Chrissy says quietly with a smile to Nicole, her expression softening when she sees how worried Nicole is. “Hey, look, you’re going to be lovely, Nicole. I’ve seen the way you look at her, like she drew the sun, and she sees that, too.”

 

“I just don’t want to…” Nicole trails off before she looks to Chrissy hopefully. “I want to make sure she has a nice time. I want to make sure I don’t say anythin’ that bores her out of her mind, or upsets her.”

 

“I highly doubt you’ll bore her,” Chrissy says, rolling her eyes. “You can’t  _ not _ have seen the way that girl hangs on your every word.”

 

Nicole blushes a little, because she  _ has _ noticed that, just a little bit, that Waverly gives her full attention to Nicole, that Waverly looks for her as much as she looks for Waverly in return. 

 

“Is there anythin’ I shouldn’t bring up?” Nicole asks quietly as they stop outside the store. “Is there anythin’ I need to know not to ask over?”

 

“She’s a pretty open book, that girl,” Chrissy says fondly. “There isn’t much she won’t talk about, even her family history, to the right people. And I think you might be the right people, Deputy.”

 

“You think so?” Nicole asks, her voice gently hopeful. 

 

“I really do,” Chrissy returns with an equal gentleness.

 

“I just... I want her to know I’m interested in her,” Nicole says nervously. “I want to talk about things she wants to talk about.”

 

“I think you could talk about coal, and that’d still interest her as long as it was you sayin’ it,” Chrissy replies, laughing softly before she looks around to ascertain their privacy. “If I may be so bold, there must be somethin’ you can draw from… I mean, you’ve courted women before, haven’t you? 

 

“I have,” Nicole answers with a blush. “I mean, only one to the point of some sort of an actual relationship, but yes, I have.”

 

“Others  _ not _ to the point of a relationship?” Chrissy asks with interest. 

 

“A lady never tells,” Nicole replies as her blush deepens. “There may have been one or two along the way, for one reason or another needin’ comfort, but not like this. None like Waverly.”

 

“I know you’ll be just fine,” Chrissy says, a calm wave passing through Nicole when Chrissy’s arm loops through her own. “Just be yourself, Nicole. And she’ll love you more than she already does.”

 

Nicole exhales shakily, trying to will the comfort Chrissy is offering to settle her thumping heart. She closes her eyes for a moment, breathes  _ calm _ , and opens her eyes again, soothed. 

 

Chrissy takes Nicole’s pace for a moment, stilling before she feels Nicole come back to the present. 

 

“Now,” Chrissy says with a nudge to Nicole’s side. “Let’s see if I can’t get an actual chore done so Daddy doesn’t think I’m hopeless, hmmm?”

 

“I don’t think your father would ever think for a moment that you’re hopeless, Miss Nedley,” Nicole says, frowning at Chrissy playfully. “But I take your meaning. Actually, I wanted to get a small thing for Waverly, too. There was a piece of ribbon she saw yesterday that I think she’ll… that I’d like to take as a small token tonight.”

 

“Lord,” Chrissy breathes in an exasperated voice. “Why aren’t the young men in this damn town half as chivalrous as you are? You put them all to shame, you know.”

 

“They could do with workin’ a little harder for their young women,” Nicole says wryly, and she believes it, too, completely unagreeable with the mediocrity the women of this time settle for. 

 

“I’ll be sure to tell the young man that courts me,” Chrissy replies with a cynical sigh. “If someone ever decides to take that burden on.”

 

“You are  _ anythin _ ’ but a burden, Chrissy Nedley,” Nicole says firmly. “Anyone who says less than that can come and tell me to my face.”

 

“Nicole Haught,” Chrissy replies fondly, squeezing Nicole’s arm in appreciation. “What in the  _ world _ would I do without you?”

 

“Well, you’d certainly be around a heck of a lot less sin,” Nicole says, laughing. “That’s for sure.”

 

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Chrissy says before she pulls Nicole towards the door. “Come on, let’s get your girl somethin’ nice, huh?”

  
  


-

  
  


A few things for Chrissy, and a small packet of lace wrapped up and hidden carefully in her pocket later, has the two of them walking back towards the jail. 

 

“What do you think’s goin’ on?” Chrissy asks Nicole with a slightly scared hint on her tongue. “I mean, with these disappearances?”

 

“Honestly, I haven’t a clue, Chrissy,” Nicole replies regretfully. “But I know your father’ll be doing everything he can to find out. The rest of us, too.”

 

“It’s strange,” Chrissy remarks as they walk up to the door of the jail, lingering outside for a moment. “I couldn’t have told you what it was like to be scared before a few days ago, it’s been that long since I’ve felt any real fear, but this… I hope we can stop it before it gets any worse.”

 

“So do I,” Nicole replies, smiling reassuringly to Chrissy as the fear slides down her own back like icy river water. “So do I.”

  
  


-

  
  


They arrive to a rather solemn mood in the jail, five or so faces looking hopeful at their entrance before they realise it’s only Nicole and Chrissy returning, and their hopeful gazes fall. 

 

No one has any new information, nor has anyone found any other clues as to where either of the two women might be, or any other piece of information that might tell them exactly who is behind this. 

 

The only small blessing is that there haven’t been any further reported disappearances; no more distraught fathers arriving to advise their daughter or wife has gone missing, too. 

 

_ Yet _ . 

 

Nedley debriefs Nicole quickly before he asks whether she’ll take up one of the patrols around to some of the nearby houses to see whether anyone’s noticed anything. Or if anyone acts unusually to her visit. 

 

“You feel alright goin’ alone?” Nedley asks her quietly before she gets ready to leave. “Not because you’re… I mean, I asked the other men the same question. I don’t want you to think I’m sendin’ you all into danger, Haught. Your safety is as much my concern as the people we’re lookin’ for.”

 

“I appreciate the offer, sir,” Nicole says gratefully. “But I think I’ll be fine. Lady Jane has a good nose for danger, she’ll get us both out of there if she doesn’t like the smell of somethin’.”

 

“You’re sure?” Nedley asks one last time. “Because there ain’t no shame in wantin’ help. The boys went out this mornin’ in pairs.”

 

“I’m happy to go with one of the others if you’re worried, sir,” Nicole offers, watching the concerned look on his face. “It’s no skin off my nose either way. If I didn’t know Jane so well, I’d take you up on that, but I feel safe with her. She knows when somethin’s up. Lord knows she’s gotten me out of danger before.”

 

“Smart horse,” Nedley says appraisingly, grinning before he nods. “Well, if you’re okay, then we can divide ourselves up and search a bit more ground. You feel anythin’ you don’t like, you hightail it out of there, alright?” 

 

“Yes, sir,” Nicole replies, smiling at his concern before she moves to gather herself and leave. 

 

She stops by Chrissy, seated behind one of the other deputies’ desks on the way out, reaching out to give her hand a light squeeze. 

 

“Thank you for this mornin’,” Nicole says with a soft smile. “I can’t tell you how much I…”

 

“I know,” Chrissy returns as her hand closes over Nicole’s. “It was my pleasure, Deputy. Thank you for comin’ to keep me company.”

 

She tips her hat to Chrissy one last time, taking a step away when Chrissy’s hand in her arm stills her for a moment. 

 

“Be careful, won’t you?” Chrissy asks quietly as a parting comment. “It won’t do for me to have to tell Miss Earp you’re standin’ her up because you’ve gone missin’ your darn self.”

 

“Of course I will,” Nicole winks back. “Wouldn’t dream of anything but.”

 

Chrissy gives her a heavy nod that says  _ good  _ before she turns and starts to walk down the Main Street towards the stables to collect Lady Jane. 

 

The animal is beyond delighted to see her, and Nicole’s glad she thought to put a few sugar cubes in her satchel on the off-chance she was able to come and visit her friend at some stage today. 

 

“I think she missed you,” Mattie says, smiling as she walks over to greet Nicole with her hands on her hips. “She was a grump yesterday afternoon.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Nicole offers apologetically, feeling more than a little guilty at not having made it to see her yesterday. “I don’t mean to leave her without at least coming to check on her, the day just got away from me.”

 

“Don’t worry your head about it,” Mattie breezes flippantly. “She was fine, and that’s what she’s here for, so you don’t need to mind that she’s not bein’ taken care of. We cheered each other just fine didn’t we, Lady J?”

 

The horse nickers in response as Mattie runs her hand down the animal’s neck, and Nicole watches on, pleased at how well Lady Jane seems settled in her presence.  _ She’s someone I can trust then, _ Nicole says to herself.  _ Good _ . 

 

“And I’m not surprised you didn’t get to me yesterday. Nedley stopped by and asked a few questions before he told me about what’s been happenin’,” Mattie says, her voice solemn. “I don’t envy your job at times like this, Deputy.”

 

“I’m glad Nedley mentioned somethin’ to you,” Nicole replies. “I had a mind to ask you myself. You’re okay out here by yourself?”

 

“Just fine,” Mattie says, smiling wryly. “A rifle next to the bed is better than a husband any day.”

 

“You’ve got that right,” Nicole says under her breath, but Mattie must just hear it, because she smiles a little knowingly before changing the subject. 

 

“Anyway, we’ll be just fine. This lot makes a hell of a racket if anyone’s here that isn’t meant to be,” she says as she gestures around to the other horses in the stable. 

 

“Good,” Nicole nods in reply. “Good. And you know where to find us if anythin’ happens or you notice anythin’ unusual?”

 

“You’ll be the first to know, Deputy,” Mattie offers with a smile. “Now, will you be takin’ Lady J out with you today?”

 

“I will,” Nicole says, scratching between the animal’s eyes. “I need to go check a few of the surroundin’ houses, stick my nose in, see if anythin’ comes up from it. I’ll bring her back later in the day, if that’s alright?”

 

“Right as rain, Deputy,” Mattie replies, opening the stall for Nicole to lead her horse out by the bridle before she sets the saddle on Lady Jane’s back and gestures her readiness to Nicole. “She’s all yours. Look after her, Lady J, alright?”

 

“Best friend anyone could ask for, aren’t you,” Nicole says fondly as she swings easily up into her saddle before she leans down to wink at the animal. “Thanks, Mattie. We’ll be seein’ you.”

 

“Ride safe, Deputy,” Mattie replies, watching Nicole ride away, and it’s faint, but Nicole thinks she can hear a parting note of  _ find that asshole, Haught, before they take us all.  _

  
  


-

  
  


Nicole is thoroughly exhausted by the time she makes her way back from the seventh homestead, sliding up into the saddle again before setting Lady Jane back on the route towards town. 

 

Seven houses and not  _ one _ clue. 

 

Nothing, except a few newly wary fathers and worried mothers. At least, she thinks gratefully, at least there aren’t any other disappearances. At least no one else has gone missing. Thank the Lord for small mercies. 

 

Or, no one else has gone missing that they  _ know _ of, Nicole adds soberly. 

 

There hadn’t been one single thing out of place at any of the homes she had visited, nor any of their behaviour out of the ordinary. Nothing. Like the women had just vanished without a trace. 

 

_ Christ _ , she thinks as she bites her lip in frustration,  _ what if we can’t find them. What if we don’t intercept them before they take others.  _

 

She’s about to give Lady Jane a gentle nudge before something out of the corner of her eye catches her attention. A tiny flash of red shooting behind a tree on the very edge of the property she hadn’t quite left. 

 

It’s likely just a rabbit, but something, maybe her curiosity on high alert, makes Nicole slide off the back of her horse. Her boots crunch lightly on the gravel when she makes makes contact with the ground, and she leads Lady Jane by the halter in the event that she needs to be able to take off in a hurry, but another few hesitant steps reveals she needn’t have bothered. 

 

The red shape, huddled and trembling with its hackles raised and its back against the tree, is a tiny pup.

 

The owners of this land didn’t  _ have _ a dog, though. They’d made a point of noting that when Nicole suggested they let any animals they did have give them an indication of danger, and to note if any of them were acting strangely. 

 

She drops Lady Jane’s halter, motioning for the horse to stay where she is for a moment, before she crouches down to present a less imposing stature to the small puppy. 

 

Nicole offers her hand out slowly to the animal, trying to coax it forward to greet her, and it pauses for a moment before it senses the lack of danger around Nicole and takes a hesitant, shaking step. 

 

_ It’s a reasonable size, _ Nicole thinks as she appraises the animal, obviously still a puppy, but too large to just have normal dog in it’s blood. The body is slender and gangly, even for a puppy, with huge paws it has yet to grow into, and she surmises that whatever this animal is, at least one of its parents was enormous. 

 

“Come here, little one,” Nicole says gently, trying to soothe the small body into taking another step towards her. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

 

Her soft voice does the trick, reassuring the animal enough that it takes the last two steps to press its dry nose against Nicole’s hand, drawing in her scent. 

 

She stays still for a moment, allowing the pup to grow accustomed to her smell before she brings her other hand slowly to move down its back. A girl, she surmises as the animal moves a little closer to her, leaning into her affection. 

 

The little body is malnourished, quite severely so, and it breaks Nicole’s heart a little because she knows the owners of this house aren’t likely to feed her if she were to show up on their doorstep, and the next homestead isn’t for a good hour’s ride. In this sun, there’s no way an already tired and starving animal would make it that far, and even then, there’s no guarantee they would offer it food. 

 

Nicole knows it would be significantly easier to just leave the animal here, but she can’t bring herself to, so she sighs and turns back to Lady Jane instead. 

 

“What do you reckon girl? Should we take her with us?” Nicole asks herself as much as Lady Jane. The horse snorts before it takes a step towards them, and Nicole smiles at the  _ yes _ she takes from the gesture. 

 

“What do you think, huh?” Nicole asks the pup in front of her, quite happily leaning against Nicole’s leg for support now. “Do you want to come home with us?”

 

She’s already running through the justification speech to Gus, even though she knows there’s no way the woman will allow her to bring a puppy into the Inn, before she has another, better idea. 

 

“You know, I think you might just make someone a very sweet birthday gift, little girl,” Nicole says, smiling as the pup allows Nicole to pick her up. She ponders for a moment about how she’s going to transport the small animal home before her elbow knocks the satchel at her waist. 

 

_ Not exactly its intended purpose, _ Nicole thinks wryly as she opens the satchel and places the pup in it, its little head and huge paws propped over the top. 

 

She clicks softly, gesturing for Lady Jane to move towards her, which the horse does warily, eyeing the bundle in Nicole’s hands. She holds her hand and then the bag containing the pup out for the horse to familiarise herself to the scent she normally associated with predators. Lady Jane sniffs a few times before swinging her head away, satisfying herself that she’s okay for the animal to be in her presence. 

 

“Good girl,” Nicole says to the horse before she scratches between her big brown eyes, grateful for Lady Jane’s acceptance. “Let’s get back to town, shall we?”

 

She holds the bag with the pup in it close to her chest before swinging up into the saddle, a little less smoothly than normal, in an attempt to jostle the bundle as little as possible. She settles into her seat, checking on the puppy, who’s busy looking up at Nicole with a mildly curious, but reasonably relaxed expression, before she nudges Lady Jane forward into a walk. 

 

It takes her longer to get into town with the pup nestled carefully in front of her, but not by much, because she wouldn’t have ridden Lady Jane at a gallop back into town in this heat regardless of their extra package. 

 

_ Gus is going to kill me _ , Nicole thinks to herself as she nears the edge of town,  _ what was I thinking?  _ Nicole doesn’t even know if Waverly  _ likes _ dogs, she just thought the companion would be nice in her shop alone at night, even more useful as a guard against anything malevolent in the darkness. 

 

She supposes Mattie might take the small warm body in her arms if Waverly doesn’t want her, and breathes a little easier having identified a backup plan. Just in case. 

 

She heads straight to the stables so Mattie can give Lady Jane a well-deserved water and brush after her long day of helping Nicole. 

 

The sun is low in the sky when she returns, late afternoon, she supposes, as she swings down from her horse carefully. She looks down to check on the pup, but she’s fast asleep, lulled by the rhythmic movements of the larger animal’s gait, apparently more than comfortable in Nicole’s presence to allow sleep to overtake it. 

 

“What in the sweet hell have you got there, Deputy?” Mattie asks quietly as she approaches Nicole. “Is that a  _ pup _ ?”

 

“I guess so,” Nicole replies with a guilty shrug. “I’m not entirely sure what breed she is. I was thinkin’ some kind of hound, maybe? I found her on the edge of one of the farms, and couldn’t leave her there. She was starving.”

 

Mattie levels her with an expression that says  _ you’re too soft for your own good _ before she gestures Nicole closer so she can inspect the small red furball in Nicole’s satchel. 

 

She peers down with interest, her hand moving for the animal before she stops, conscious of waking her or spooking her. Nicole smiles at Mattie’s conscientiousness, and her obvious experience with animals that leads her to temper her own curiosity for the sake of the pup’s comfort. 

 

“She’s beautiful, even as rough as she is half-dead. Look at her feet, she’s going to be big,” Mattie says softly. “What on earth are you going to do with her? I doubt Gus’ll let you keep her.”

 

“I thought I’d… I mean, I was going to see if I might gift her to…” Nicole starts before she trails off, unsure how much she can safely reveal to Mattie. But the other woman’s no idiot, and she smiles knowingly at Nicole before she finishes Nicole's sentence. 

 

“Waverly Earp?” Mattie asks wryly, patting Nicole on the arm reassuringly as Nicole feels her own face drain of blood. “Don’t worry, Deputy. Your secret’s safe with me. I’ve got enough of my own, god knows I can keep another.”

 

Nicole blows a shaky breath out between her teeth before she looks to Mattie gratefully. 

 

“I won’t pretend most folks ‘round here won’t be ready to condemn the two of you, but I won’t be one of ‘em,” Mattie offers. “I had my great love, and now that he’s gone, I’ll care for this lot rather than give another my broken heart, but I won’t begrudge no one love.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Nicole says sincerely. “Truly, Mattie. I’m sorry. Can I ask what…?”

 

“Tuberculosis,” Mattie replies, the anger in her voice. “Damn disease. He was fine until he wasn’t.”

 

“That’s terrible,” Nicole says as she watches the light go from the other woman’s eyes. 

 

“We had a few good years together,” Mattie says, coming back to the present when the pup stretches in her sleep, making them both smile. “I’m glad the two of you have found each other.”

 

“Nothin’s… I mean, I don’t know what’s goin’ to happen yet,” Nicole says as a frown crosses her features. “We’re… I’m takin’ Waverly a small picnic tonight, but we’re not… we haven’t… I think she’s interested, but she’s not… she hasn’t done this before.”

 

“And you have?” Mattie asks curiously, interested.

 

“Yes,” Nicole admits with a reasonable level of confidence that Mattie’s not going to run to the minister for a trough of holy water. “I mean…only once properly, but yes, I have.”

 

“Fair enough,” Mattie says, nodding as she takes the information in. “Well, mind you don’t hurt that girl more’n she’s already been hurt, alright? Lord knows she don’t need no more pain in her life than she’s already had.”

 

“Of course not,” Nicole says quickly. “I wouldn’t dream of it. I think she’s… I mean…”

 

“It’s okay, Deputy,” Mattie offers, smiling at Nicole’s reaction. “I know you mean well. I just meant that others do, until the goin’ gets tough, and then they get goin’ with it.”

 

“I’m the one that stays,” Nicole says with a firm voice. “If there’s one that’s runnin’, it won’t be me. But I hope… I mean, you never know, but… I don’t think Waverly’ll run.”

 

“Nor do I, Deputy,” Mattie returns, eyeing Nicole for a moment. “And I trust you know what that means? For the both of you?” 

 

“Absolutely,” Nicole replies with conviction that she hopes shuts down the question Mattie has about how serious she is about this, that she might not know what she’s getting herself into, because she does. With an old, broken heart as proof, she  _ does _ . 

 

“Good,” Mattie says finally, nodding, pleased with her interrogation. “Now, if you’ve got some business to attend to before your evenin’, how about you leave that bundle with me. Give you a chance to speak to Gus and get ready without worryin’ about this wee thing.”

 

“Would you mind?” Nicole asks hopefully, because it would be an enormous help to have Mattie assist with the pup.

 

“Of course,” Mattie replies, looking down to the small red shape in Nicole’s arms. “Give me a chance to try and get some food and water into her, too.”

 

“I’ll come and fetch her just before sundown?” Nicole asks as she picks the little sleep-heavy body up out of the bag. The pup stirs, panicking a little before Nicole’s voice calms her. “It’s alright, girl. Mattie here’s a friend, okay? She’s gonna look after you for a while, and I’ll come and get you later, okay?”

 

The little shape resists for a moment before she settles in Nicole’s arms and allows her to hand the red ball to Mattie carefully. 

 

“Christ, she’s heavier than she looks, isn’t she?” Mattie asks, surprised at the weight behind the pup. “She’s gonna be a big girl, that’s for damn sure. As long as she’s trained well, she’ll make an excellent companion, I think.”

 

“So do I,” Nicole smiles at the little animal in Mattie’s arms. “I’m so darn fond of her already.” 

 

“I’m surprised she went with you, to be honest,” Mattie admits with a note of surprise in her voice. “Most wild pups’ll bite you and run as soon as look at you.”

 

“Maybe she recognised a kindred spirit,” Nicole says quietly, reaching to run her fingers through the soft fur. 

 

“I think she must’ve, Deputy,” Mattie replies, casting a look to Nicole. “You know, if an animal’ll trust you, so will I. I’m never sure of outsiders, but I think you’re one of the good ones, Haught.”

 

“I appreciate that, Mattie,” Nicole returns kindly. “And for takin’ care of her for a while. You’re sure she won’t be a burden?”

 

“Not at all,” Mattie says, shaking her head. “You’ll be lucky if I’m willin’ to part with her when you come back, I think. She’s a sweet little thing.”

 

“That she is,” Nicole says with a soft tilt of her head. “Anyway, I’d best be off, I need to liaise with the others before I head off to get ready. You’re…?”

 

“We’re okay, Deputy,” Mattie nods before she shoos Nicole away with the hand not curled under the pup. “You go do your things, and we’ll see you back here later.”

 

“Oh,” Nicole thinks suddenly when she jostles her gun at her side, her quick mind jumping ten steps ahead of her. She had a fleeting thought earlier in the day about how in the sweet hell she was going to find a way to keep her gun on her this evening while wearing her dress, and suddenly, while glancing at Mattie’s belt, Nicole has an idea. “Mattie, you wouldn’t have any old lengths of leather to spare lyin’ around, do you?”

 

“Might have,’ Mattie answers, her eyes narrowing. “I can try and dig somethin’ out before you come back later, if you don’t need it now?”

 

“No,” Nicole sighs gratefully. “No, that would be wonderful, thank you.”

 

“My pleasure, Deputy,” Mattie says, eyeing her suspiciously, like she wants to ask Nicole  _ why _ , but she almost doesn’t want to know. “Now get on out of here. We’ll have everythin’ ready for you when you get back.”

 

Nicole tips her hat to Mattie in thanks before she turns on her heel and makes her way back towards the jail to share her lack of news with the others. 

 

_ Christ, _ Nicole thinks to herself as she stuffs her hands in her pockets, kicking dirt with each step.  _ Let someone have found something. Anything.  _

 

She spots a few  **MISSING PERSON** posters up, pinned to the outside of the jail when she walks onto the porch, and she’s thankful that someone had gone and fetched them from the print shop for her and started hanging them up. 

 

The sooner the town’s on alert, the better, Nicole thinks warily, eyeing the printed black letters on the page, as if willing them to reveal the location of the two missing women by some stroke of magic or witchcraft. 

 

They don’t, of course, so it’s with a heavy heart that she walks into the structure she’s beginning to feel a sense of home with. 

 

The mood in the jail when she steps her tired legs through the door isn’t promising. Nedley is hunched over in his chair, looking through a set of documents -town records or family trees, Nicole supposes - with Chrissy perched at his shoulder pointing out one thing or another, and one of the other deputies is walking laps around the jail, trying to jog his memory or stir a thought. 

 

“Haught,” Nedley says as he sees her approach, slipping his glasses of the edge of his nose to rub at his brow. “Did you…?”

 

“Not a damn thing, sir,” Nicole replies, frowning with disappointment. “Almost every house I could reach in a half day’s ride, and nothing.”

 

“Nothin’?” Nedley asks with an equal tone of disappointment in his own voice. “Not…”

 

“A hair out of place or one drop of suspicious activity or behaviour,” Nicole replies, shaking her head. “Nothin’, sir. Absolutely nothin’.”

 

“Christ,” Nedley says, rubbing his hands harder over his eyes, and Nicole can see the strain in his shoulders. “How can there be nothin’? These girls didn’t disappear into thin goddamn air, did they?”

 

“There’ll be somethin’, Daddy,” Chrissy consoles as she runs her palm over her father’s back. “You’ll find somethin’, I know you will.”

 

“At least we haven’t had any more reported disappearances, have we?” Nicole adds hopefully, looking to Chrissy or the other deputy for confirmation. 

 

“No,” the deputy says, walking over to Nicole. “Small mercies, huh?”

 

“I think so,” Nicole replies, trying to squeeze as much positivity into her tone as possible. “Chrissy’s right, sir, we’ll find something. And in the meantime, we’ve got the town vigilant, too.”

 

“Vigilant and panicked,” Nedley says critically, frowning up to Nicole. “I’m sorry, Haught. I don’t mean to be so negative, it’s just…”

 

“It’s okay, sir,” Nicole returns softly, and she means it, because she can only imagine the stress Nedley’s under with the town now watching his every move, waiting for him to fix everything and catch the person responsible while reclaiming the missing women. “Truly, it’s alright. We’ve got your back, you know that, right?”

 

He looks to Nicole, his frown melting slightly at her show of support, before a hesitant smile turns his face. “I know, and I appreciate it, Haught. I really do. Lord knows I’d be a dead man without you lot behind me.”

 

“They’ll have to come through me first,” Chrissy says firmly at Nedley’s side. 

 

“I know, sweetheart,” Nedley softens as he looks to his daughter. “And a hell of a job they’d have gettin’ through you, too.”

 

Chrissy looks to Nicole for a moment, as if trying to prompt something before Nicole’s mind catches her wave of thought.  _ The dress, _ she remembers suddenly.  _ We have to go and pick up the dress. _

 

“Sir, I wonder if you’d mind me doin’ one last walk up and down the street before I turn my hat in for the night,” Nicole says under the guise of being able to pass the dressmaker’s, too. “Just in case there’s somethin’ that wasn’t there earlier in the day?”

 

“That’d be great, Haught,” Nedley breathes wearily. “Take Chrissy with you if you don’t mind the company? We’ve kept her cooped up with us boring men all day.”

 

“It’s been a fine day, Daddy,” Chrissy says, nudging his shoulder, which causes him to smile. “But I wouldn’t mind the fresh air, if it’s going to be a few hours ‘till we ride home.”

 

“See if you can’t find us somethin’ for dinner?” he asks her softly. “Whatever you’d like, alright?”

 

“Sure thing,” Chrissy replies happily, giving her father one last squeeze on the shoulder before she slides off the arm of his chair and over to Nicole. “Ready now?”

 

“Sure thing,” Nicole answers as Chrissy slides her hand into the crook of Nicole’s arm. “We’ll see you soon, sir.”

 

“Thanks, Haught,” Nedley says, sighing, but Nicole thinks she can hear a hint of relief in there now, too. 

 

The two of them walk out onto Main Street in the early evening light, and Nicole gives the street one good look before she takes a step down any further. 

 

Activity has petered off, as it seems wont to do when the dusk takes over the day, and there are only a few people walking up and down now, similar to this time yesterday evening when Nicole had done the same thing. 

 

She casts a glance down to the spot where she thought she saw the figure last night, but there’s nothing; only the dusty street and one or two familiar faces talking down the way. She throws her gaze around one last time before she looks to Chrissy, smiling and gesturing that they can carry on. 

 

“Is your father okay?” Nicole asks Chrissy with a frown. “I know this can’t be easy on him, but if there’s anythin’ I can do to lessen the load, you’ll let me know, won’t you?”

 

“Of course,” Chrissy says, smiling at Nicole’s thoughtfulness.  “And I think just lettin’ him know you’re there like you did about does it. He takes so much worry on himself so no one else has to, you’ll be hard pressed to get him any less wound than he is now.”

 

“I wish there was more I could do,” Nicole says, frustrated. “I wish there was  _ anythin’  _ I could do. I’ve never felt so helpless before. Normally we have a lead or some small clue, but we haven’t found a damn thing. It really is like they’ve vanished into thin air.”

 

“Well, we both know that’s not possible,” Chrissy offers by way of solace, chuckling lightly. “There’ll be somethin’ somewhere. You’ll find it, Nicole. You or Daddy or the both of you. I know you will.”

 

She wants to take Chrissy’s calm words to heart, but try as she might, she just can’t. All of a sudden, the frustration boils over and she stops still in the street, looking to Chrissy with a panicked expression.

 

“But what if we don’t?” Nicole asks with exasperation. “God, what was I  _ thinkin’,  _ setting’ this up for tonight? I should be out there lookin’,  _ doing  _ something, not indulging myself.”

 

Chrissy levels her with a glare that Nicole guesses she’s given her father more than once in his life, and thank  _ god  _ she chooses that moment to be the more settled of the two, because her firm, but gentle voice quiets Nicole’s racing pulse almost immediately. 

 

“You  _ should  _ be spending time with someone who probably needs the distraction and reassurance as much as anyone else in this town,” Chrissy says clearly. “Remember that, alright? This is probably panicking Waverly a heck of a lot more than she’s lettin’ on. And even if she didn’t need the company and reassurance, you can’t starve yourself of good just because you think you’re not helping. Because you  _ are  _ Nicole. And you can’t run yourself ragged, neither. You need to rest. You need to find yourself some calm, so you can help those without it, because trust me, the next few days? Somethin’ tells me you’re gonna need it.”

 

“You’re right,” Nicole replies as the air leaves her lungs in a sigh. “Of course you’re right. I’m sorry, Chrissy, I didn’t mean to panic, I just feel so…”   
  


“I know you do,” Chrissy says, her voice kind as she pats Nicole’s arm and leads her along into a slow pace again. “I know, which is why it’s so important to have a night to forget all about this so you can come at it tomorrow with a fresh pair of eyes, huh?”

 

“Anyone ever tell you you’re far too clever for your age?” Nicole asks with a smile, her mind racing a little slower now. 

 

“ _ All _ the time,” Chrissy replies, her turn to sound exasperated as she rolls her eyes dramatically. “Isn’t that dull?” 

 

“I think it’s wonderful,” Nicole says kindly, bumping her hip against Chrissy’s and they walk the rest of the way to the seamstress’s in quiet, light chat.

 

“So, what have you got planned for the evening, then?” Chrissy asks Nicole just before the reach the shop.

 

“Actually,” Nicole says, smiling when she remembers the pup waiting for her with Mattie that she hasn’t mentioned to Chrissy yet. “I did somethin’ a little crazy today.”

 

“Nicole Haught, crazy?” Chrissy asks, aghast. “I don’t believe you. What could you have possibly done in between all that rangin’ today?”

 

“It was kinda there that I found her,” Nicole replies, smiling shyly.

 

“Her?” Chrissy questions, pulling Nicole up short to look her in the eye. “You found  _ her _ ? Don’t tell me this is another long lost girl, Nicole, because I’m as open-minded as they come, but  _ that  _ might be a step too far.”

 

“No,” Nicole laughs, looking down at a slightly worried Chrissy with a wide smile. “It’s not that at all. Even  _ I’m  _ not that progressive, Chrissy, don’t worry. No, it’s… I found a pup out on one of the ranges this afternoon. She was half-starved and almost a goner, and I almost didn’t see her, but she came when I held my hand out, and she was so beautiful, I couldn't leave her there.”

 

“You bought a pup back into town?” Chrissy asks incredulously. “Is it wild, or tame, or?”

 

“I think it’s too small to be one way or the other just yet, although it’s parentage definitely shows some type of hound. Mattie thinks so, too. Her little paws are enormous,” Nicole answers, a warm feeling spreading into her chest at the thought of the animal. “Anyway, I thought about bringin’ her in for myself, but then I thought... Well, Waverly’s in that shop all by herself at night, and if I can’t be there to protect her, I’d feel a damn sight better if she had some company. The pup might not be big yet, but she  _ will  _ be, and I reckon she’d give someone who wasn't supposed to be there a good bite, in spite of her small size, even now.” 

 

“You found Waverly a dog?” Chrissy asks, her mouth still agape as she tries to process the information, and it sends a cold spike through the heat of her chest when Nicole realises Chrissy might be able to shed some light on whether or not Waverly would even  _ like  _ a companion like that.

 

“Is it ridiculous?” Nicole questions Chrissy as her face lines in worry. “Is she not fond of animals, or allergic, or…”

 

“No,” Chrissy replies, shaking her head, laughing gently. “Truth couldn’t be further from that, in fact. That girl loves animals more’n anyone I’ve ever met. Even Mattie, who’s lookin’ after Lady Jane. It’s just… I’m laughin’ because you say you don’t think you know what to talk about to make her happy, or what to do, but it’s like you know exactly what she wants without actually  _ knowin’ _ .” 

 

“Thank god,” Nicole sighs in relief. “So she might like her, then? I didn't make some terribly misguided decision?”

 

“Not at all. I think she’ll love her, Nicole,” Chrissy says brightly. “Does she have a name, yet?”

 

“No,” Nicole answers, shaking her head. “I thought I’d let Waverly name her. If she wanted to keep her, that was.”

 

“I think she’ll definitely want to keep her,” Chrissy says with a smile. “Wait till you see that girl’s face when you walk into that shop. She’s goin’ to think you damn near walked in there with the sun in your arms.”

 

“You really think she’ll be okay with it?” Nicole asks unsurely. “I mean, I know it was her birthday not too long ago, and I knew I couldn’t get her anythin’ in town without arousing too much suspicion, so…”

 

“It’s  _ perfect _ ,” Chrissy affirms, looking to Nicole brightly. “Wait, if she’s not here, where is she now?”

 

“Mattie’s lookin’ after her until I run it past Gus,” Nicole replies. “I didn’t just want to turn up with her at the Inn and expect Gus to let me through the door.”

 

“Probably a wise thought,” Chrissy says, smiling at the same thought running through Nicole’s mind regarding Gus shooing her outside with the little red bundle in her arms. 

 

“I thought so,” Nicole returns with a smile of her own. “I thought I’d pick up the dress, call by the Inn, speak to Gus and collect the bundle of food I asked her to set aside for me and anythin’ else I want for tonight, stop by the baths, go pick the little one up and then surprise Waverly. You really don’t think it’s a terribly misguided idea?”

 

“I think it’s a wonderful idea, Nicole,” Chrissy offers kindly. “I know you think  _ you’re _ lucky, but I hope you know Waverly’s damn lucky in this equation, too.”

 

“You think so?” Nicole asks uncertainly before her heart warms a little against Chrissy’s affirmation, quieting the question in her palms. “I mean, I know it’s fast, and I  _ know _ it’s a forward gesture, but…”

 

“I think it fits,” Chrissy says, beaming up to Nicole. “I think it fits, Nicole. I know it’s fast by normal standards, but the two of you… I don’t know, maybe I’m speakin’ out of turn, but it feels like… it feels like maybe the two of you were made for each other.”

 

They floor Nicole, Chrissy’s words, they  _ floor _ her. 

 

Because honestly, in the dark, lying in the bed she now knows Waverly had once lain in, listening to the steady beat of her own heart, Nicole has thought the same thing. 

 

It’s difficult, not knowing quite where Waverly sits, even though she thinks they’re on the same page, but Nicole knows this thing with her, their  _ connection _ , even platonically, it’s  _ different _ to anything else she’s ever experienced with another person. 

 

It’s  _ deeper _ . And she can’t wait for tonight, to see where this connection might take them next. 

 

Because she’s not sure where Waverly stands, she’s  _ not _ , but she  _ thinks _ she knows - based on the way her touch lingers on Nicole’s body, and the way her breath catches when Nicole comes close, and the way her gaze finds Nicole from across the street - she thinks she knows. 

 

And it makes her nervous and terrified and tremendously excited all at the same time. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Chrissy says after a moment, drawing Nicole’s attention back to the ground beneath her feet instead of the sky above them. “I must be a sentimental fool tonight, I didn’t mean to…”

 

“It’s okay, Chrissy,” Nicole replies, stopping Chrissy mid-apology with a hesitant smile. “I think… I mean, I think that’s how I feel as well, I just… I don’t want to let my hope run away with me, just in case she doesn’t…”

 

“I know you don’t,” Chrissy says softly, and her voice is kind and brimming with something she wants to say, something exciting, but knows it’s not her place to, so she holds back. Just. Spilling only a fraction of her secret out instead. “But, I think that maybe… it’s okay to be a little hopeful. I mean, I can  _ see, _ Nicole. I can see the way she looks at you. I think it’s okay to be a little hopeful.”

 

“You do?” Nicole asks, and she thinks that she knows what Chrissy is saying, that she knows more than Nicole does, that Waverly has told her something, some small piece of information that’s causing Chrissy to smile wider than Nicole’s seen yet. 

 

“I do,” Chrissy returns firmly, and Nicole’s hope  _ dawns _ . “Now, let’s go and get this dress, huh? Before I hold you up for a second longer and keep you from your girl.”

 

_ My girl, _ Nicole thinks dreamily. My girl. Waverly Earp could be my girl, and I could be  _ hers _ . If she’ll have me. Maybe, maybe,  _ maybe _ . 

 

“Dress,” Nicole says, bringing herself out of her reverie as she looks towards the seamstress, waving to them from the door of the shop.

 

“Dress,” Chrissy nods, pulling an ever-increasingly nervous Nicole with her in that direction. 

 

The seamstress beams and beckons them both inside, laying the dress out across the counter before she shows the alterations to Nicole, and she doesn’t really know or understand the first thing about the mechanics of dressmaking, but she’s aware of enough to know that Miss Jessie has done a beautiful job. 

 

“This should fit you like a glove,” the seamstress says happily, smoothing her hand over the fabric to press out non-existent crinkles and lines. 

 

Ordinarily, Nicole would try on a piece of clothing before she left the tailor’s or seamstress’s, in the event that another alteration was necessary, but she’s so dusty from the length of her day again, she’s loathe to get the fabric even a little dirty. 

 

“Thank you for makin’ time for it so quickly,” Nicole offers kindly, and while she’s still not sure about this damn dress, she’s hugely grateful that she has this other option. “I really appreciate it.”

 

“Oh, my pleasure, Deputy,” Miss Jessie says, waving Nicole’s thanks away. “It’s a point of personal pride when I can make a dress that looks as good on someone as this does on you. He’s one lucky man, whoever’s takin’ you out to see this.”

 

The assumption makes Nicole’s skin crawl a little, but she knows it’s far better that the seamstress assumes that than it is to have her question who else the dress might be for. 

 

“He sure is,” Chrissy inserts at her side, and Nicole’s more than a little thankful at her filling in the gap when she can only clench her teeth at the plain need to have to do it in the first place. “Speakin’ of which, we should get the deputy here movin’ so she won’t be late.”

 

“Of course,” the woman offers quickly before she begins to wrap the dress into a parcel for Nicole. “Now, I know you’re plannin’ on wearing your hair down, but I’ve cut a length of ribbon to match the colour in case you do braid it.”

 

“That’s very kind of you, ma’am,” Nicole says in return, smiling at a mildly jubilant Miss Jessie as she hands over a few coins to pay for the dress and alteration. “I’m indebted to you.”

 

“Hush,” she says with another wave as she deposits her newest takings into the till at the counter. “You just make sure you tell ‘em where you got it from, alright? That’s thanks enough.”

 

“I sure will. Thank you again,” Nicole replies, taking the package and tipping her hat to Miss Jessie one last time before she and Chrissy walk from the shop and back out onto Main Street. 

 

The sun is beginning to set now, the perfect time for Nicole to go about her last few chores before meeting Waverly in an hour or so, by which time the mostly deserted street will only be more so, and she’ll have a suitable cover to be able to slip into the shop, hopefully without being seen by anyone beyond Gus, Mattie, and the woman at the baths. 

 

“I wish I could see Waverly’s face when you turn up there soon,” Chrissy sighs wistfully. “Between the dress, if you choose to wear it, and the pup, she’s not going to know what to do with herself.”

 

“It won’t be too much, will it?” Nicole asks Chrissy as they make their way back down to the jail so Chrissy can return home with her father. “It won’t be too overwhelming?”

 

“Just overwhelming enough,” Chrissy winks. “In the best way, of course. Do you think you will wear it then?”

 

“I think so,” Nicole says, nodding before she looks down at the parcel in her arms. “I think I will. There’s no harm, not at least once. Especially after the trouble you’ve gone through to help me with it today.”

 

“Don’t you worry about me,” Chrissy says firmly, levelling Nicole with a glare. “You just do what you feel comfortable with, alright? Pay no mind to me. It was a pleasure helpin’ you, Nicole. Truly.”

 

“Thank you, Chrissy,” Nicole returns kindly, struck again with how lucky she is to have found Chrissy here. “I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

 

“Sure you could,” Chrissy replies, nudging Nicole in the side with her elbow. “It’s just a heck of a lot more fun with me around, huh?”

 

Nicole laughs at Chrissy’s effortless optimism, feeling a little less anxious in the presence of Chrissy’s positive air as they arrive at the jail. Chrissy slips her arm out of Nicole’s elbow and pulls her into a tight hug, whispering one last  _ good luck, I can’t wait about hear about it in the morning,  _ before she pushes Nicole gently back out onto the street and on her way. 

 

She takes a deep breath, turning for the other end of the street where she’s scarcely been today, and the excitement and nerves start to creep up her arms again. 

 

-


	6. six.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey team! Happy pre-release of Season Three day!
> 
> I hope this is a nice little treat for you ahead of tonight. I'm a bit excited to finally bring you what is - I think - the most anticipated part in the beginning of the story.
> 
> Don't be shy, come and pop by [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) and let me know if you enjoyed this and what you thought of the premiere too, if you'd like!
> 
> As always, thank you SO much to @iamthegaysmurf for her most kick-ass beta skills and general ravenclaw-ness. 
> 
> xx

-

  
  


She’s nervous -  _ god _ she’s nervous - but she’s excited, too. It’s heightened by the fact that she’s been so busy that she’s barely seen Waverly at all today, and she’s only realising now, with the ability to slow down a little, how much she’s actually  _ missed _ her. 

 

The package is heavy in her hands, and the doubt is real enough, but the rational part is more present now, and it’s telling Nicole exactly what she just said to Chrissy, that as unconfident in it as she will be, she’s silly not to wear it at least once. 

 

If for nothing else, than to see whether Waverly’s reaction is similar in any way to Chrissy and Miss Jessie’s, which, selfishly, she’s hoping it is. 

 

She had planned on calling in to see Waverly ever so briefly, to assure her she’d be back before Waverly knew it, but when she reaches the shop, Waverly is busy with an early evening rush. She’s all the way down at the other end of the shop, serving a couple of women Nicole recognises as having met the first day she was in town. 

 

She contemplates giving Waverly a quick hello, regardless, before she decides she’d rather not distract Waverly from her customers, so she casts one last longing look before turning towards the Inn instead. 

 

The front desk is unmanned when she first walks in, so she runs up to her room instead of waiting, eager to get to the baths as quickly as possible. Ensuring she has everything she needs for the evening while divesting herself of extra things she doesn’t, with the small package containing the length of ribbon for Waverly securely in her pocket, Nicole makes her way down the stairs, smiling when she sees Gus standing there now. 

 

“Good evenin’, Deputy,” Gus says warmly when Nicole steps off the bottom step. 

 

“Good evenin’, Gus,” Nicole replies with an answering smile. “Good day?”

 

“Not too bad, thank you, Deputy,” Gus says, smiling a little at the bubbling nervousness she can sense in Nicole. “And yourself?”

 

“Busy,” Nicole replies with a sigh. “Fruitless in some ways, and fruitful in others.”

 

“No sign of the missin’ girls, then?” Gus asks, frowning at Nicole. 

 

“Nothin’,” Nicole sighs in exasperation. “Not a damn thing. I had a hard ride to the homes near here, and still nothin’. You didn’t see anythin’ either today, did you?”

 

“No,” Gus says, shaking her head as her frown deepens. “Me neither, and I had a good hard look, too. I think the MISSING posters were a good idea. They’ve got folk talkin’, that’s for sure. And that ain’t a bad thing. Ought to put whatever scum is out there on guard that we’re lookin’ for him, too. Anyway, fruitful, that have somethin’ to do with whatever’s in that package?”

 

“Pardon?” Nicole asks, confused for a moment before she flushes red in embarrassment, even though Gus can’t see what’s in it. “Oh, this? Kind of… I mean, I-”

 

“Deputy,” Gus cuts across, stopping Nicole’s rambling. 

 

“Sorry,” Nicole replies with a shy shrug. “I guess I’m a little nervous. No, ma’am. Well, yes and no. The main reason for the fruitfulness is… and I hope you won’t think I’m too mad, but… while I was out rangin’ today, I did find somethin’. Just not the somethin’ I was  _ lookin _ ’ for.”

 

“And that was…?” Gus questions, raising an eyebrow at Nicole. 

 

“A pup,” Nicole says a little more confidently as she thinks of Chrissy’s positive affirmation about the idea. “I found a pup, abandoned at the edge of one of the ranches. And I couldn’t bear to leave her there, so I brought her home.”

 

“We aren’t in the habit of allowin’ our customers to bring animals into their rooms, Deputy,” Gus offers with a little warning in her voice, and Nicole smiles because this is exactly the reaction she was thinking she’d get from Gus. 

 

“Oh. No, Gus. She isn’t for me,” Nicole says by way of clarification, watching the frown on Gus’s brow ease. “I thought… I’m goin’ to ask Waverly if she might like the pup. As company, I mean, at night in the shop. It’s small now, but by the size of its paws, it’s not going to stay that way. By the looks of it, I think it’s a hound of some type, which means it’ll be less than quiet, even as a pup, if someone turns up that’s not supposed to be there. She may not abide the idea at all, I just thought it might be prudent to try and offer some other means of security, given what’s goin’ on?”

 

Gus is silent for a moment, and Nicole’s actually worried she’s going to lose her cool, or call Nicole’s idea ridiculous or stupid or worse, but thankfully, her face splits into a reluctant smile instead.

 

“I think dogs have a place in our lives, and it sure as hell ain’t inside with us, but I have to admit, I like the idea of that girl havin’ something else to watch over her during the night,” Gus replies with a wry grin. “And the girl has an affinity for animals, too, that’s for sure. I don’t think you’ll have a great deal of trouble getting her to agree to take the pup on.”

 

“I mean, if she doesn’t want her, I think Mattie will be more than happy to take her in instead,” Nicole offers as an alternative. “She’s out there with her now. Not that Mattie would admit it, but I think she’s a bit smitten for the small thing already.”

 

“I think you’ll have no chance of that, unfortunately for Mattie,” Gus says, laughing. “I think that’s a fine thought, Deputy. And good of you to worry for her.”

 

“Of course,” Nicole says enthusiastically. “Of  _ course _ I do.”

 

“I know, Deputy, and I must admit, I’m more thankful for it than I thought I was goin’ to be,” Gus returns, looking to Nicole. “Especially with what’s goin’ on.”

 

Nicole smiles softly at Gus’s recognition, and she’s trying to think of an appropriate way to ask whether Gus has had a chance to set aside some food when Gus puts her out of her misery. 

 

“Now, before you bounce right out of your skin, let me go and fetch this basket for you,” Gus says, throwing Nicole a teasing smile before she turns into the kitchen, not bothering to wait for Nicole’s reply. 

 

“Thank you, Gus,” Nicole says sincerely as she looks over the beautiful selection of food hidden under a homespun cloth, and it’s clear from the effort Gus has gone to that she might not  _ love _ their meeting each other like this, but she’s okay with supporting them in this one small way. “This looks… thank you.”

 

“Get out of here, Deputy,” Gus says to Nicole once Nicole looks up at her, smiling at Nicole’s obvious eagerness. “You be careful, you hear me?”

 

“As careful as I possibly can, ma’am,” Nicole answers respectfully. “You have my word.”

 

“Away with you, then,” Gus says, gesturing Nicole out the door, but it’s not dismissive, it’s playful, and Nicole catches the smile that slips out just before she turns to leave. 

 

Because Gus might not like that it’s Nicole Waverly seems to have taken a liking to, and not one of the town’s eligible bachelors, but Nicole knows Gus would rather have Waverly happy, even if that means it’s Nicole that’s making her so. 

 

Nicole throws her one last thankful smile before she scoops the basket up in her arms and heads for the baths. 

 

Waverly appears to be engaged with another customer when Nicole walks out of the Inn, but she lifts her head at  _ precisely _ the moment Nicole’s toe hits dirt, like she could  _ feel _ Nicole taking a step for her, and she  _ beams _ . 

 

She looks down to the basket in Nicole’s arms, her smile widening impossibly, before her attention is stolen by the woman in front of her, gesturing to one of the bottles over Waverly’s shoulder 

 

She returns to the customer, but she casts one last look across the street, blushing in answer when Nicole raises her hand to give her a small wave that says  _ see you soon.  _

 

Positively elated at having seen Waverly, properly, Nicole floats over to the baths, setting the package and basket down carefully after she pays the woman at the door, sinking into the warm bliss of the bathwater a few minutes later. 

 

It’s even better than the previous night, the water that folds itself around her body, and she’s hard-pressed to smother the groan of pleasure, conscious of not startling the attendant walking around the room, empty but for Nicole, when she dips her head under, too. 

 

It’s tempting to stay and take her time in the fragrant water, to let the scent of Waverly wash over her until the water cools, but she has places to be tonight. And why would she linger here this evening, when she can have the real thing?

 

She scrubs the dirt and worry off of her body, taking extra care to make herself as presentable as possible, before she washes her hair, too, finally standing to let the water drip clean from her body as the scent of Waverly fills her lungs and warms her hands. 

 

Drying herself off quickly, wrapping the provided towel around her middle, she sets herself dressing in her undergarments before she turns her attention on the wrapped brown package. 

 

Eyeing it as though it were relatively unstable dynamite, Nicole takes one last steadying breath at the bundle before she unwraps her fate. 

 

It’s as beautiful as she remembers, which she’s abjectly thankful for as she pulls it from its wrappings. If she’s going to look like a fool, she’ll at least look like one in a lovely dress. 

 

She starts to pull the dress on and over her head before she gets stuck halfway, and panicking, tries to extricate herself before she feels the gentle touch of a stranger’s hands on her back. 

 

“Easy there, Deputy,” the attendant says as she helps Nicole right her situation. “Let me help you.”

 

“My thanks,” Nicole offers, red-faced and flushed when her head finally comes through the neck of the dress. “Good Lord, these things should come with some sort of warning.”

 

“Not familiar with them?” the attendant asks Nicole kindly, helping Nicole smooth down the dress. 

 

“Not at all,” Nicole grouses before she pats down the skirt of the dress with her palms, too, already regretting having chosen to try the damn dress. 

 

“Well, for what it’s worth, you probably should be, because you’re a sight in this, I’ll tell you,” the attendant says with a nod of her head. “Would you like me to help?”

 

“Would you?” Nicole asks gratefully, the woman’s compliment settling her nerves a little. “I’d sure as heck appreciate it, if you wouldn’t mind. The last thing I want is turning up lookin’ even dumber, having put the darn thing on wrong.”

 

“Of course,” the woman says, moving behind Nicole, laughing softly, but not cruelly, at the exasperation in Nicole’s voice. “You really are a sight, I’ll tell you.”

 

“Thank you,” Nicole replies, trying to temper her blush. “The vote of confidence is appreciated, I assure you.”

 

“There we are,” the woman says a few minutes later when she finishes fastening the final stay. “All done.”

 

“You’re a godsend,” Nicole sighs in thanks when the attendant steps back. 

 

“No problem, Deputy,” the woman replies, nodding as she looks Nicole over. “You’re goin’ to wear your hair down, yes?”

 

“I think so,” Nicole says as she twists her hair into a single large ringlet over one of her shoulders. “I mean, it’s a right pain, but…”

 

“Here,” the attendant offers, scooping up the length of ribbon the seamstress had added to the package. She gathers Nicole’s hair at her shoulder and ties the ribbon into a small bow, leaving Nicole with something that appears to be the best of both worlds: down, but out of the way. Formal, but relaxed, too. 

 

“Perfect,” Nicole sighs when she catches a look at her reflection in the looking glass, because this is better, this feels at least a little more like her. “Thank you, truly.”

 

“My pleasure,” the woman smiles, standing back to survey her handiwork. “Now, get goin’ to wherever it is you’re goin’, and stop deprivin’ whoever it is this is for a second longer, will you?”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole laughs and scoops up her clothes, tucking them under one arm as she loops the basket over the other. 

 

The front door to Waverly’s shop is shut when Nicole comes out of the baths, but she can see Waverly moving around, presumably readying herself for the evening upstairs. 

 

She makes good time getting out to the stables again, thankful for the largely deserted street and the fact that no one pays her mind, nor really even sees her. 

 

“Look at you,” Mattie says, whistling when Nicole walks up to the porch of the house after having left the bundle of clothes next to Lady Jane’s stall to save her having to take them back with her. “Good Lord, Deputy, don’t you scrub up well.”

 

“I feel ridiculous, but if Waverly likes it…” Nicole mumbles quietly before she cuts herself off. “I’m sorry, Mattie, you don’t want to hear that.”

 

“Nonsense,” Mattie says dismissively. “Don’t matter to me who warms your bed at night.”

 

“I appreciate it,” Nicole replies, smiling shyly, and she does, because having an ally, or more than one person in town, is more than Nicole has had in a long time. “Truly, Mattie, I do.”

 

“No skin off my nose,” Mattie shrugs before she turns her body inside. “Wait here for a moment, will you? She must’ve fallen asleep again.”

 

Mattie leaves Nicole alone in the low dusk light while she turns to presumably fetch the pup, grinning widely with a far more presentable red bundle than the one Nicole left her with. 

 

“She can’t seem to keep her little eyes open for more’n a few minutes at a time, but she’s clean and fed and watered now, at least,” Mattie says as she folds the sleeping puppy into Nicole’s arms. 

 

“Mattie,” Nicole says, touched at the obvious effort Mattie’s gone through. 

 

“It’s nothin’. I could hardly leave the wee thing covered in dirt like she was,” Mattie replies dismissively. “Even  _ I’d _ be tempted to turn my nose up at that. By the way, Deputy, have you ever heard of a Redbone? They’re a type of Coonhound. I think that’s what our little friend here is. Won’t know till she’s a little older, but the red fur and build are a decent clue, for now.”

 

“I can’t thank you enough,” Nicole says, the warm body wriggling for a moment before it comfortably settles against Nicole’s heart. “And maybe we’ll have to have a wager on that breed, huh?”

 

“Don’t you go tellin’ anyone,” Mattie warns. “Can’t have anyone thinkin’ I’ve gone soft out here by myself.”

 

“My lips are sealed,” Nicole replies while trying to control the smile at Mattie’s obvious fondness for the pup. “I’ll ask Waverly to bring her out to see you, if she wants to keep her?”

 

“I mean, it’s probably for the best,” Mattie bluffs, attempting to come off nonchalant and failing miserably. “Just so I can check she’s growin’ alright and what not.”

 

“Of course,” Nicole replies with a serious look. “For the pup’s sake.”

 

Mattie offers her a softer smile that’s gone so quick Nicole’s not sure it was even there, before she turns, gesturing Nicole back to town. 

 

“Oh,” Mattie says quickly, reaching into the work apron tied around her waist, drawing out a long length of soft looking leather. “Before I forget, will this do?”

 

“Yes,” Nicole replies happily, reaching to take the leather strap when Mattie offers it to her. “It’s  _ perfect _ , Mattie, thank you.”

 

“You’d best get goin’ before you lose the light, Deputy,” Mattie says by way of a farewell, gesturing to the fast-setting sun, before she turns and offers Nicole a parting comment Nicole isn’t expecting. “Enjoy your evenin’, Nicole. You deserve a break, too. You won’t catch this asshole if you work yourself into the ground.”

 

“Thank you, Mattie,” Nicole nods before she inclines her head. “I’ll swing by tomorrow, if I can, pay Lady Jane a visit.”

 

Mattie nods in response, smiling after the pup fast asleep in Nicole’s arms before turning back inside, leaving Nicole and the pup outside alone. 

 

Nicole takes a seat on one of the porch steps, balancing the little red bundle on her knee carefully before hitching up her skirt to expose one of her calves. She makes quick work of strapping the gun in its holster to her leg securely, testing its comfort by standing and moving a little, before deducing that her hasty hack-job will do for the brief walk and evening, and making her way back into town. 

 

Her heart starts racing the second she turns from Mattie’s residence, and she’s more than a little thankful for the red ball that seems to be having some sort of a calming effect on her, stopping her runaway heart from pounding too hard through her chest and into the ever-darkening night. 

 

She was worried that carrying a squirming animal in her arms might have been a little hard with the basket in the other hand, but it’s not difficult at all with the pup as placid as she is, and as such, Nicole finds herself approaching the white boards of Waverly’s shop in no time at all. 

 

Her heart is hammering thickly in her wrists as she knocks gently on the door, quiet enough that it shouldn’t bring any attention to them, not that there’s anyone around to see Nicole waiting outside, but loud enough that Waverly will undoubtedly have heard her from upstairs. 

 

The nerves from a thousand different streams of thought converge on her all at once: the pup, her dress, the way she has her hair, the roll of ribbon in the pocket the seamstress had thoughtfully sewn into one of the darts for her, and even with the soft sleepy weight in her arms, she’s terrified, until Nicole sees Waverly’s boots appear at the top of the stairs and her heart  _ stops _ . 

 

Absently, she notices Waverly’s jaw almost hit the floor in shock at Nicole’s appearance before she casts a glance to Nicole’s arms, but it’s all background noise and movement, because Nicole only has eyes for Waverly herself. 

 

Because she looks  _ beautiful _ . 

 

She’s changed into a clean white shirt, with the collar high, and a deep blue skirt that sits at her waist and drops to the floor, almost complementary to the colour of Nicole’s own dress, and her hair is loose down around her shoulders, in a way Nicole has yet to see, and quite honestly, she takes Nicole’s breath away. 

 

Their eyes lock as Waverly makes her way across from the bottom stairs to the front door, and Nicole doesn’t miss the way she sees Waverly’s hands tremble a little when they move to unbolt the latch. 

 

Waverly’s eyes don’t leave hers for a second as she opens the door and gestures Nicole through it, only speaking once she and the pup are standing inside. 

 

“You look…” Waverly breathes, forgetting herself completely as her eyes drink Nicole in. “Nicole, you look…”

 

“Silly?” Nicole asks nervously. “I’m so sorry if you think it’s ridiculous, I just-”

 

“No,” Waverly says, cutting Nicole off quickly, but kindly. “No, you look… beautiful, Nicole. You look  _ beautiful _ .”

 

“I could say the same thing about you, too, although I’m afraid the word doesn’t do you justice, Waverly,” Nicole offers, trying to quiet her racing heart, lest Waverly hear it thumping between them. “You might be the finest thing I’ve ever set eyes on, if you’ll permit me to be so bold.”

 

Waverly drops her head as a blush sweeps its way across her cheeks, and it only serves to endear her more to Nicole’s eyes, only making the desire to reach out, to somehow touch Waverly, even greater. 

 

“I think I’ll have to argue that point with you,” Waverly says shyly, her eyes moving over Nicole again before they finally settle on the pup. “Although, I think this small body might be the only thing that could rival you. Who do we have here?”

 

“Oh,” Nicole replies, suddenly remembering as she looks down. “Well, it’s… I mean, if you’d like - and please, there’s absolutely no pressure if you aren’t comfortable with her, but… if you’d like, a slightly belated birthday present?”

 

“She’s for  _ me _ ?” Waverly asks with a slightly astonished expression on her face. 

 

“Only if you’d like her,” Nicole hurries to say. “She’s… I found her while I was out rangin’ today, and I couldn’t  _ leave _ her, so I brought her back in with the intention of findin’ another home for her, before I thought she might make a nice companion for you here? I know it’s a little unorthodox to have an animal inside, but while you’re here alone at night, I wondered if you’d maybe like the company?”

 

“You brought her for  _ me _ ?” Waverly asks again, as though she can’t quite believe what Nicole is saying to her. “She’s…”

 

“Yours, if you’d like her,” Nicole offers, smiling at the tremor in Waverly’s hands as she reaches to touch the small body in Nicole’s arms. 

 

The pup stirs lightly at the touch, reaching out its nose to Waverly’s hand, sniffing it before licking Waverly’s knuckles softly. Waverly looks up to Nicole with eyes brilliantly alight before her lips part in a question. 

 

“May I?” Waverly asks softly as the pup raises its weary head, looking to its new guardian before Nicole nods happily, shifting her into Waverly’s arms. 

 

Her hand brushes over Waverly’s in the movement, and they both look up at the electric shock that echoes out from the touch, before Waverly’s attention shifts back to the little bundle. 

 

“Hello there,” Waverly’s voice sings softly. “Aren’t you the second loveliest thing I’ve ever seen in my life?”

 

She looks up to Nicole in a way that leaves no doubt as to who the loveliest thing is in her mind, before her eyes drop back to the pup. “Does she have a name?”

 

“No,” Nicole says, shaking her head. “I thought maybe you’d like to be the one to…”

 

“What do you think your name should be then, huh?” Waverly coos to the pup before she rubs her nose on top of the little red head. “Nicole, I can’t believe you found me a puppy.”

 

“Do you like her?” Nicole asks nervously. “Because if she’ll just be a burden, I’m sure Mattie would have her in a heartbeat.”

 

“I love her,” Waverly replies gently as the little shape yawns in Waverly’s arms. “She’s beautiful, Nicole. It’s… I think she’s the best gift I’ve ever had. And she’s not goin’ anywhere. Mattie will just have to fight me for her.”

 

“I’m glad,” Nicole sighs in relief. “God, I was so darn worried you’d think it was a dreadful idea.”

 

“It’s the  _ best _ idea,” Waverly replies with a wide smile. “The best. I think I might be in love already.”

 

And Nicole thinks the feeling might be mutual, by the looks of the way the pup seems to have come to life, sniffing Waverly’s face softly before pressing its nose against Waverly’s, making her own crinkle adorably. 

 

It’s heart-meltingly cute, and Nicole has to repress the urge to sigh, tilting her head to the side as she watches Waverly happily.

 

“I think she’ll probably crash for the rest of the night once we get her settled,” Nicole offers as she holds her hand out when the pup looks her way, too. “Whatever she’s been doin’ hasn’t been easy on her, she’s been flat out of air all day, so I don’t think she’ll be a bother tonight. I mean, I didn’t want you to worry she’d interrupt-”

 

“Our evening,” Waverly says suddenly after she glances up to find Nicole looking at her softly, placing the hand not holding the pup to her chest on Nicole’s arm gently. “God, where on earth are my manners? Come in properly, won’t you? I hope you won’t think it presumptuous, but I’ve set the room out upstairs. If you’d prefer to stay down here, however, I can…”

 

“No,” Nicole says quickly, shaking her head. “I’m sure… I mean, if you don’t mind my bein’ up there?”

 

“Not at all,” Waverly says, a shy smile breaking across her face. “It would… I’d like to show you, if you’d like?”

 

“I’d love,” Nicole affirms before gesturing to the basket in her arms. “I had Gus throw us a few things together to sup on. I thought you probably don’t have much of a chance to slip away durin’ the day to eat.”

 

“That’s why Gus wouldn’t let me pinch anythin’ from the kitchen when I dropped by after I saw you just before,” Waverly says in comprehension. “She could have told me. I’ve been so panicked about what I had here to turn into something for us.”

 

“I’m sorry she didn’t just say,” Nicole says apologetically. “If I’d known you were worried, I would have told you at once.”

 

“Oh, I wasn’t too worried about me,” Waverly blushes. “I was worried about what a terrible first impression I’d make, cookin’ you somethin’ from the plain stores I had upstairs. I don’t tend to keep a lot here. I can normally convince Gus to let me cook somethin’ over at the Inn. Or pinch somethin’ she made, if it looks good.”

 

“I’m sure it would have been delicious, whatever you’d been able to make,” Nicole returns, watching the way Waverly’s face lights with every compliment. “And far better than what I’d be able to make myself. Maybe next time, Gus won’t be so generous, but we don’t have to worry for tonight at least.”

 

“Next time?” Waverly catches eagerly, and Nicole smiles at her apparent keenness.

 

“Of course,” Nicole says, her voice charming in reply. “If I make a good enough first impression myself, that is. And you’d like my company again?”

 

“I’d hate to presume too quickly, Deputy,” Waverly returns playfully. “Perhaps you’ll let me know when the evenin’ is over whether  _ you’d _ like to?” 

 

“That I can do,” Nicole says, smiling at Waverly’s reply, nodding before she gestures to the basket. “For now, though, can I tempt you with a bite?”

 

“Why, yes,” Waverly beams, her eyes alight with what Nicole thinks is the thought of their evening in front of them, before she gestures towards the staircase. “I’d like that very much. Would you like to…?”

 

“Yes,” Nicole answers with a simple nod, but even that feels loaded, too. With hope and anticipation and something else that tastes like a low lonely ache about to be fulfilled. “I’d like that very much, too.”

  
  


-

  
  


Waverly turns the shutters on the front window of the shop, Nicole offering her assistance after she watches Waverly attempt to do the task one-handed, before leading Nicole to the other end of the shop where the staircase is. 

 

“The shop really is beautiful, Waverly,” Nicole offers, looking over the hanging dry herbs and the immaculate and extremely well-stocked shelves as she walks close behind. 

 

“You think so?” Waverly asks, turning her body with a questioning grin. 

 

“Absolutely,” Nicole replies with a nod of her head. “I must confess, I haven’t ever seen anything quite like it. In other towns I’ve visited, places often have a small doctor’s surgery, and there’s a much smaller apothecary, but I’ve never seen anything as extensive as this.”

 

“We’ve never really had a doctor in town,” Waverly replies, placing her foot on the first step of the stairs. “I think we had one before I was born, but never an established one. When I got a little older and started to gather more of an inventory, people just started to come here for ailments and the like. I guess we’ve been lucky not havin’ a demand for one.”

 

“It sounds like that’s because you’ve done a more than adequate job of takin’ the place of one,” Nicole compliments, trying to keep her wits about her as she catches the flash of bare skin around Waverly’s ankles when she takes the steps ahead of Nicole. 

 

“Oh, I don’t presume to be anywhere as clever as a doctor,” Waverly replies modestly, dismissing Nicole’s comment. “I only help with some small things.”

 

“I think you’re bein’ far too humble, Waverly Earp,” Nicole returns, catching Waverly’s eye when she looks back down the stairs. “I think you do far more for this town than you realise.” 

 

“Maybe,” Waverly says in reply, but Nicole knows she still doesn’t have Waverly convinced, as unsure as she seems to be about her own importance here. 

 

It’s not easy to watch, Waverly’s self-doubt so strong even with the things that Nicole  _ knows _ she’s good at. It makes her want to grab the whole town by the shoulders and shake into them just how poor their recognition of this young woman must be if she can have served this place for years now without being sure of her own value. 

 

Nicole makes a note in her head during their time together, both tonight and tomorrow and the tomorrow beyond, to make sure she helps Waverly, slowly and gently, to see this herself. 

 

“What do you think of Oakley?” Waverly asks just before they reach the top of the stairs, casting a look down at the red shape in her arms. “You know, like Annie Oakley? Do you think that might suit her?”

 

“I think that’s  _ perfect _ ,” Nicole replies happily, looking to the pup as well. “I think that’ll suit her perfectly, Waverly.”

 

“What do you think little one?” Waverly asks the sleeping lump softly. “Will Oakley fit, do you think?”

 

As if on cue, the pup yawns widely, and Nicole looks to Waverly before they both laugh gently. “I think that’s a yes, don’t you?”

 

“I think so,” Waverly smiles in return, just as they reach the top of the stairs. “I do apologise for the lack of grandeur. I know it’s smaller than your room at the Inn. I find it a little cozy myself, but it’s home now, you know?”

 

Nicole takes a moment to look around the room, her jaw dropping at how beautiful the small space is. It’s whitewashed, like the shop is downstairs, and it might have made the space feel a little clinical, but here, it makes the space warmer. 

 

There’s a low bed, neatly made, at the opposite end of the room to the stairs, the head of which is centred beneath the window that looks out to Nicole’s room, with a small table on one side, and Waverly’s tall armoire on the other. 

 

There are a few clippings hung up on different spaces of the wall, their aroma filling the room softly, but beautifully, and at the other end of the room is a modest bookcase, positively crammed with different tomes, and a small, low table, set with two matching chairs, also low to the ground. 

 

The whole space it lit with a number of candles, and it’s so effortlessly calming and peaceful, Nicole is worried for a second that she’s died and gone to heaven in the time they’ve walked up the stairs. 

 

Her first impression is of Waverly. The space  _ breathes _ Waverly. 

 

“Waverly,” Nicole says, taken aback, not quite certain how to finish her sentence. “It’s…”

 

“Small?” Waverly offers as she wrinkles her nose. “I know, I-”

 

“No,” Nicole says quickly. “No, no, not at all. I was going to say beautiful. It’s beautiful, Waverly.”

 

“You think so?” Waverly asks shyly, watching Nicole’s wordless sweep of the room with a soft smile on her face. “I was really hopin’ you’d like it. I mean… if you did, you might want to come and visit again, or…”

 

“Visit?” Nicole offers, still a little thunderstruck by the calm the room seems to radiate. “God, I’d set up camp and stay forever if you’d have me, it’s that lovely.”

 

Nicole catches herself, registering what she’s just said, clambering to recover as Waverly watches on with a tilted head and an amused grin. 

 

“I mean…” Nicole tries to reason. “I didn’t…”

 

“It’s quite alright, Deputy,” Waverly assures her. “It’s… it means a great deal you like it. I’m rather fond of it myself. What about you, Miss Oakley, do you think you’ll like it here, too?”

 

She raises her little nose to the air at the new set of smells, looking around inquisitively, so Waverly sets her down on her feet, standing back and watching with Nicole as she makes her way around the room. She does a small loop before climbing up onto the foot of Waverly’s low bed, once satisfied with her surroundings, curling herself up into a ball, and promptly falling straight back asleep. 

 

“I think we can take that as a yes?” Nicole asks with a soft laugh, looking down to Waverly. 

 

“I think so,” Waverly smiles in return before she shifts her attention back fully to Nicole. “Thank you, Nicole. For thinkin’ of me? I’ve… thoughtfulness isn’t somethin’ I’ve been lucky enough to be the recipient of very often, and I have to confess, I feel more spoiled these last few days with you than I ever have in my entire life.”

 

“You know, I feel a little the same myself, Miss Earp,” Nicole replies, watching the way Waverly’s face lights in response to Nicole’s admission. 

 

“If you’ll allow me to be so bold as to rewind time before the very welcome distraction took my attention away,” Waverly offers, and Nicole can see the nerves almost visibly tingling along her arms as she reaches to place her palm at the crook of Nicole’s elbow. “Nicole, you look… I fear I don’t even have the words.”

 

“You like it then?” Nicole asks uncertainly, her eyes darting down to the place where Waverly’s touch has settled. “I was so nervous about wearin’ it, I almost didn’t, but Chrissy had gone through such trouble to help me with it, and she’d said it looked alright, so…”

 

“You didn’t have to buy anything special for little old me,” Waverly says as her hand falls from Nicole’s elbow so she can turn and look at Nicole more fully. “Anything would have been more than okay.”

 

“Maybe I wanted to make a good first impression,” Nicole winks playfully. “Besides, I only would’ve had my other attire to wear. I didn’t… I didn’t actually have a dress, and I thought you might prefer a dress to…” 

 

Waverly’s face falls at the admission, and she wishes she could kick herself for adding on the last sentence, or turn back time, because she hadn’t meant to make Waverly upset, she hadn’t meant to mention it at  _ all _ , come to that. 

 

“Waverly, I-” Nicole hurries to apologise, but Waverly cuts over her gently. 

 

“You bought a dress?” Waverly breathes in question. “You bought a dress for tonight? For me?”

 

“I mean, I’m sure I’ll find occasion to wear it again,” Nicole reasons as she watches an expression she can’t quite determine the base of cross Waverly’s face. 

 

“Of course,” Waverly says airily, and Nicole knows the comment is rhetorical, so she doesn’t bother replying yet. “Of course, you’d normally wear…”

 

“I would, but I’m… I mean, I don’t mind if this is what you’d prefer,” Nicole offers, still watching Waverly’s face carefully. 

 

“You did this because you thought it was what  _ I _ wanted?” Waverly asks, as though not quite believing what it is Nicole’s saying. 

 

“I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable with my other… attire,” Nicole admits, deciding to tell Waverly the truth, rather than try and disguise her actions. Because Waverly deserves only the truth from her, from the beginning. No smoke and hidden meanings. Even with something as simple as this. “I wasn’t sure what you were expectin’, so I thought it best to err on the side of  _ this _ .” 

 

“I don’t know what to say,” Waverly says a little speechless. 

 

“You don’t have to say anythin’, Waverly,” Nicole offers. “I can... I mean the seamstress has my measurements now. I’m sure it’ll be no trouble for her to amend a few other things for me.”

 

“I don’t wish to offend you,” Waverly says carefully, and Nicole braces herself for an impact. “Truly, Nicole, because this dress is… it’s lovely. But your normal dress, I like that very much, too.”

 

“You do?” Nicole asks as her heart stops in her chest, because out of everything, that is not what she was expecting to hear. 

 

“I do,” Waverly nods shyly. “It’s… you. It’s you. It suits you.”

 

She pauses, and Nicole’s entire body waits, poised on her next words. A fresh blush climbs her cheeks, and Nicole can feel her own burning as it rises warm from her heart. 

 

“Last night, when you came to call before closin’, I… I thought you looked very fine in that, too,” Waverly admits shyly, her voice almost a whisper. “I mean, it was clear you were comfortable, and… you… your other attire, it’s  _ you _ . If this is what you wish to wear, then I think that’s fine, too, but I’m fond of what I see you in normally. Very much so.”

 

She thinks Waverly doesn’t mean to admit so much, but it comes tumbling out regardless, and Nicole finds she doesn’t mind at all, because for the first time since the worry about her damn dress settled in her mind, she can breathe  _ free _ , because Waverly likes  _ her _ , just as she is.

 

“So, if I was to call on you another night wearin’ somethin’ different, that would be okay, too?” Nicole asks gently. 

 

“More than,” Waverly affirms with a soft nod. “The dress truly is lovely, though. And your hair… I like it down. Do you wear it like this often?”

 

“Hardly ever,” Nicole admits with a little shrug as she shuffles the basket she’s still holding to her other arm. “It's a pain to have it down durin' the day, given that it's so long.”

 

“Gosh, where are my manners,” Waverly says quickly, taking note of Nicole’s movements before she bends to take the basket from Nicole. “Here, would you like to have a seat? You must be starvin’, too?”

 

“It’s more than okay,” Nicole laughs gently at Waverly’s panic. “I assure you. I could definitely eat, though.”

 

“I have a terribly distractible mind sometimes,” Waverly admits. “Wynonna always says so. I’m sorry, too, if that was too forward. Me sayin’ that I liked…”

 

“That’s more than okay, too,” Nicole offers clearly. 

 

Because it  _ is _ , because they have to be so careful how they carry themselves around others, but here, in the safety of a private room, Waverly can say whatever she damn well pleases to Nicole, and regardless of whether things between them will develop further, she intends to let Waverly know as much. 

 

“I know we spoke of it a little last night,” Nicole says, remembering back to their conversation in the shop downstairs. “But you don’t ever have to temper your speech around me. If there’s something you don’t like… or somethin’ you  _ do _ … don’t ever be afraid to tell me, alright? I don’t want there to ever be anythin’ between us but the truth.”

 

“You don’t mind?” Waverly asks, a little hesitant, and Nicole can tell she’s still a little embarrassed about speaking so frankly. “Some folks say that, but sometimes I think they just want a girl that doesn’t say much unless she’s asked.”

 

“I’m not most folks,” Nicole laughs, ducking her head bashfully. 

 

“No,” Waverly replies, blushing a beautiful dusk. “No, you’re not.”

 

There’s a quiet moment between them, and Nicole feels the air in the room still again, as it has done on the edge of every turning point between the two of them, and when Waverly raises her hand, reaching forward, for  _ her _ , Nicole knows this will be no different. 

 

“In that case,” Waverly says as she reaches to touch the end of Nicole’s hair where it drapes over her shoulder, briefly. “I like you best in your other clothes, but I think… I mean… I like your hair… like this. Down like this. It suits you. It’s you, but a different you. One I feel like maybe only I get to see?”

 

Nicole can tell, she can  _ tell _ how nervous Waverly is, and how much it’s costing her to put a foot forward, and Nicole adores her for it, but she doesn’t want Waverly to step forward alone. 

 

So she takes a step, too. 

 

“It is,” Nicole offers in return, running her forefinger to trace the strand of Waverly’s hair from her crown down to her shoulder, catching happily the shiver it draws from Waverly’s form. “Just for you. May I say that I like yours like this, as well?”

 

“You may,” Waverly replies a little breathily, her eyes darting to try and catch the movement of Nicole’s hand, and Nicole can just about hear her heart stop. 

 

It’s  _ bold _ , Nicole’s touch, and it’s one of the first intentionally suggestive moves Nicole has made, because she wants to respect whatever it is that Waverly wants, she doesn’t want to push too far and end up breaking her own heart again like she did with Shae, but at the same time, she wants to make it  _ clear _ to Waverly where she stands and what she would have this relationship evolve into, if Waverly would have that, too. 

 

Waverly turns her head slightly, as though chasing the warmth of Nicole’s hand against her cheek, and Nicole is just about to lift her thumb to brush the line of Waverly’s jaw when Oakley yawns loudly on the bed behind them, breaking the tension of the moment. 

 

Nicole drops her hand slowly, a half-amused, half-exasperated laugh falling from her lips before she steps back, putting a little more space between them. 

 

She steps back, but Waverly  _ doesn’t _ . 

 

She stays planted in the exact spot where Nicole had touched her, with glassy eyes, and it looks as though she’s trying to elongate the memory, before finally the veil falls, and she looks to Nicole again. 

 

Raising her hand to the side of her face, where Nicole’s touch had glanced, she smiles before bending down onto her knees next to the seat she pulls out for Nicole to sit in and begins to unpack the food Gus had set aside for them. 

 

“Will you sit?” Waverly asks shakily, her mind clearly still a little fixed on the lingering ghost on her cheek before gesturing to the seat she’s drawn up. 

 

“I’d love to,” Nicole replies, unable to stop the smile at the obvious effect she’s just had with a simple touch. 

 

Because that must  _ mean _ something, right? 

 

She bends to take her seat at the lower chair, her eyes catching Waverly’s across the short distance between them, when something stops her mid-movement. 

 

“Oh,” Nicole says, frowning slightly.

 

“Is everything alright?” Waverly asks with a worried note in her voice. “Is something…?”

 

“No, no it’s not you at all. You’re perfect, Waverly,” Nicole offers, her hand traveling down her leg for the gun she had forgotten, as distracted as Waverly had left her, that was strapped to her calf still. “It’s just… I have my revolver with me. I don’t make a habit of bringing it as an added companion for dinner, I promise, but I thought it best to have it on me at all times while things are… should I have any cause to use it, I mean. I didn’t want to come here unable to protect you, should anythin’ happen.”

 

“Oh,” Waverly replies with a soft sigh, looking to Nicole with an expression that breathes how touched she is by the small gesture. “That’s… that’s very kind of you to think of me, Deputy.”

 

“Of course,” Nicole returns easily, smiling  _ warm _ at Waverly. “The only thing is… it would probably be more comfortable to remove it for dinner, if you wouldn’t mind?” 

 

“It’s not in the basket?” Waverly asks, a little confused before her eyes settle on Nicole’s dress and she blushes heavily. “Oh, it’s…”

 

“I didn’t want to alarm you by havin’ it in there,” Nicole says back, her own blush creeping up her neck now, too. “It’ll only take me a second to remove, if you would…”

 

And it’s not that she minds in any way revealing the long, lean muscles of her calf to Waverly in the process. It’s more a desire to preserve a touch of modesty, to save exposing quite so much bare skin until such time as Nicole knows that Waverly feels comfortable seeing her like that, and not simply in a moment of Nicole’s prompting. 

 

“Oh,” Waverly says again, her blush deepening as she turns quickly, flushed at the prospect of what Nicole is saying once she takes the meaning. “Oh, of course. Here, I’ll turn so you can…”

 

It doesn’t take her longer than a few seconds to lift the hem of her dress and release the tie holding the gun in place, but she’s still almost sad to watch Waverly turn away. She sets the weapon down on the floor next to her before sitting across from Waverly, reaching for Waverly’s hand atop the table, indicating that she’s ready for Waverly to turn back. 

 

Waverly turns with Nicole’s hand hovering  _ just _ over her hand, like she could feel Nicole’s reach beneath her skin, and Nicole makes to move away, the touch now unnecessary, but Waverly surprises her, lifting her hand to make contact, regardless. 

 

She drops her hand again after a second, but it’s enough. Because the simple fact that she crossed that last inch for Nicole, its  _ significant _ . 

 

“It’s very kind of you to think of me like that, Nicole,” Waverly says quietly. “About me bein’ safe, I mean. It means a great deal.”

 

“It’s my pleasure, Waverly, truly,” Nicole offers gently, because it is. To have Waverly trust her enough to grant Nicole the opportunity to look out for her, it’s a privilege. 

 

She can sense Waverly’s shyness now, that she’s not quite sure whether to say whatever it is that’s on her mind, so she changes the subject gently instead, shifting their conversation back into a realm Nicole knows Waverly will feel more comfortable. 

 

“So, you like to cook, too?” Nicole asks, shuffling forward in the low chair now that she’s free of her burden, helping to unpack the basket in front of them. 

 

“When Gus lets me at her kitchen,” Waverly answers shyly, relief creeping into the edges of her smile. “It’s a little hard to do a lot here, but I do like playin’ with how different herbs help enhance different flavours and the like? I think Gus would rather I just cooked somethin’ straight half the time, but Curtis loves it.”

 

“I’m very glad you have them in your life, Waverly,” Nicole offers, watching the way Waverly’s hands move nimbly over the contents of the basket, setting everything out in front of the both of them. 

 

“So am I,” Waverly replies gratefully. “We were exceptionally lucky, Wynonna and I, that they were able to help us after…”

 

“You don’t have to talk about anything that upsets you,” Nicole says quickly, reaching for Waverly’s hand again. “I’m sorry. We can talk about somethin’ else, if you’d…”

 

“It’s okay,” Waverly returns, tilting her head at the unexpected thoughtfulness. “I don’t mind talkin’ about that. Or I don’t mind talkin’ about it with you, at least.”

 

“You’ll tell me if you’d prefer not to, though?” Nicole asks of her. Because the last thing she wants is to make Waverly in  _ any _ way uncomfortable. 

 

“Of course,” Waverly replies, smiling warmly, releasing Nicole’s hand so she can lay out the last of the food. “We were very lucky to have Gus and Curtis, though. We’re as good as daughters to them, I think.”

 

“I think so, too,” Nicole returns, her chest warm at the simple domestic scene in front of her. “I mean, look at this spread, Waverly. I don’t think love does what that woman feels for you justice.”

 

“Our family is different, but it’s no less a family, I don’t think,” Waverly says fondly, and Nicole can almost see Gus’s shadow at Waverly’s shoulder, guarding and present, always. “But what about you? I’ve just realised I don’t know a single thing about your own. Forgive me, how rude of me not to ask, Nicole.”

 

“It’s more than alright,” Nicole says, laughing softly at the minor horror etched into Waverly’s face at the perceived shortfalling. “I promise, Waverly. Truth be told, there’s not a lot to tell.”

 

“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay, too,” Waverly offers gently. 

 

“No, no, it’s fine,” Nicole returns. “It’s more than fine, we just don’t… we’re not close. They don’t approve of a many number of the ways I’ve decided to live my life is all.” 

 

“Are they far from here?” Waverly inquires, gathering a small mouthful of food, passing it to Nicole as she watches Nicole intently. “Do you have any siblings?”

 

“Probably a month’s ride or so away,” Nicole answers with a casual shrug, devouring the mouthful instantly as her suddenly hungry stomach yawns for more. “And I… I did, yes. A brother. But there may well be…they may well have had more children since I left, I can’t be certain. I was such a disappointment to them, I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to erase me entirely. Them figurin’ out that my, uh…  _ preferences _ were a little more delicate than they would have liked was the first straw, and me announcin’ I wanted to intern beneath the lawmen in town, instead of startin’ a family like a  _ proper _ woman, that was the one that broke the horse’s back. The night I told Mama and Daddy  _ that _ , they screamed the house down, and told me to leave and never darken their doorstep again.”

 

“They didn’t?” Waverly asks, horrified as she stills in her movements . “But… you’re… they’re your  _ parents _ , Nicole.”

 

“Unconditional love isn’t a guarantee, I guess,” Nicole says sadly, and she knows it sounds cold to say such a thing so flippantly, but the truth of the matter is that it hurt her for years, her parents’ betrayal and refusal to accept who she was or the career she wanted to pursue, and the only way to stop the pain in the end had been to shut the emotion towards them off altogether. 

 

“Oh, Nicole, I’m so sorry,” Waverly breathes from across the table, and she can feel the battle in Waverly’s body to reach for her snap the second before she actually does. 

 

She’s expecting Waverly to take her hand again, or touch her arm, but she does more than that. She shifts out of her chair, shuffling on her knees over to Nicole before enveloping her in a hug. 

 

Her hands fit perfectly in the hollow at the small of Nicole’s back and her chin rests on Nicole’s shoulder as Nicole rises on her knees a little to meet Waverly’s embrace. 

 

She doesn’t bother to suppress the quiet sigh, because she wants Waverly to know how much the gesture of comfort means to her. Because she’s been on her own for a long time, but that doesn’t mean the hole her family left so long ago doesn’t still  _ ache _ from time to time. 

 

“I’m sorry, Nicole,” Waverly offers, her breath soft like a gentle breeze. “They don’t know what they’re missin’ out on. I know it doesn’t make it easier, but the people that have left your life? It’s their loss. It’s absolutely their loss. And if that’s led to you bein’ here, then that’s our gain.”

 

Nicole closes her eyes for a moment, savouring the way her own arms sit across Waverly’s shoulders like they were molded for the space, and Waverly’s final words on the matter are so quiet that Nicole’s not even sure if she’s heard them or dreamed them, but they fill the space between her ribs nonetheless. 

 

_ And my gain, too. _

 

“It’s their loss that they haven’t seen you grow into what you are now, Nicole,” Waverly says quietly, drawing back from Nicole slowly. “You haven’t seen them in a long time, then?”

 

“Not for many years,” Nicole replies, watching Waverly take her seat once more, her body already urging her to reach for Waverly’s touch again. 

 

“Guess we’ll just have to adopt you into the family then, huh?” Waverly offers, winking as she takes a small bite of food herself. “The name’s not worth a lot to others, but it still means a great deal to us. And we’ve done the same with Doc, even though Wynonna hasn’t got her head out of the sand and told him that she reciprocates his feelings.”

 

“Gus mentioned him,” Nicole says, trying to control the flutter of her heart as a result of Waverly comparing her to the man that could be her brother-in-law. Her sister’s companion. Like she might one day be for Waverly. “Do you think that’s likely to happen soon, then?”

 

“I goddamn hope so,” Waverly replies in a rare show of exasperation. “We’ve only been waiting the last few years for it to happen. I think she’s on the verge of it, myself. Lord only knows why she’s holdin’ back. Gus thinks it’s because she doesn’t want to give up her independence, but I think it’s more than that. I think she doesn’t think she deserves happiness after what happened.”

 

“Everyone deserves happiness,” Nicole says easily. “Well, maybe not  _ everyone _ , but your sister certainly does. Maybe more than others, given what she’s been through.”

 

“It means a lot that you think that,” Waverly returns. “Most people don’t, but it means more than I can tell you that  _ you _ do.”

 

“I hope you don’t mind,” Nicole offers, softening her eyes as she watches Waverly, picking thoughtfully at the sweet things Gus had assembled. “Chrissy told me a lot of what happened. To your family, I mean. She didn’t mean to be a gossip or deprive you of your own story. I think she just wanted to make sure I wasn’t goin’ to run the other way like a coward, or form some sort of awful opinion about it.”

 

“It’s quite alright,” Waverly replies, smiling at the gentleness in Nicole’s voice. “She does a fabulous impression of a guard dog, Chrissy Nedley.”

 

“That she does,” Nicole says, smiling at the idea of Chrissy marching her away from Waverly’s shop if she’d said anything Chrissy wasn’t happy with. “Hey, will you tell me somethin’ she didn’t? Tell me more about your shop. How did that come to be? I’ve gotta say, Waverly, it’s pretty obvious your knowledge of this stuff  _ far _ outstrips your years.”

 

“Oh,” Waverly says, a little surprised at being asked. “Well, I guess some of this is easy when you enjoy it as much as I do? And I always wanted to help people. That made the learnin’ easier, too? When I knew there was a purpose behind it?”

 

“You obviously have a natural aptitude for it, too, though?” Nicole says, smiling at Waverly’s modesty. 

 

“Maybe a little,” Waverly admits shyly. “It’s just… I don’t know, some of the things that plants can do it’s… it’s incredible. Sometimes I’m not totally convinced it’s not magic, the way they work. If I didn’t know  _ how _ they worked, or at least how we  _ think _ they work, I’d definitely think they were. You just have to know how to unlock the potential they have, and you can fix almost anythin’.” 

 

The colour rises in Waverly cheeks, breathing a tangible passion into what she’s talking about, and Nicole can’t help beaming in return. 

 

“I got carried away again, huh?” Waverly blushes, dropping her eyes. “I’m sorry, it’s just… I don’t get to talk to someone often who seems to have a genuine interest in this topic. In me, I should say. It’s probably enough to bore you to tears, though. God, I’m sorry. We can talk about somethin’ else if you’d like?”

 

“No,” Nicole says quickly, shaking her head. “No, no, not at all. It’s not borin’ at all, Waverly. I’d  _ love  _ to hear more about it, sincerely. I have to confess a reasonably significant lack of knowledge of the topic myself, but I’d love to learn a little more, if you’d be willin’ to share?”

 

“Of course,” Waverly says, lighting up at Nicole’s interest and affirmation. “What would you like to know?”

 

“How about… everythin’?” Nicole asks, turning the corner of her mouth up in an ever-so-slightly forward way. “Does that work for you?”

 

“Everythin’,” Waverly breathes, looking to Nicole, eyes wide with possibility and potential and  _ hope _ . “I could do everythin’. For you.”

 

“Well, where does one start then, with the world of knowledge at their feet?” Nicole asks, gathering a few small pieces of the sweeter items in an echo of Waverly a moment ago, smiling to herself. 

 

“How about… the beginning?” Waverly offers, watching carefully, and smiling, too, when she notices Nicole’s preferences from their selection. 

 

“The beginning?” Nicole says with a grin before she sucks a lingering morsel of sweetness from the end of her finger. “That sounds like a  _ mighty _ fine place to start.”

  
  


-

  
  


They talk for what feels like hours, well into the night, first about the sweep of Waverly’s medicinal knowledge, then into the other more varied of her botanical applications -- cooking and liquor-making, tea-brewing, perfumes and fragrances -- until their voices begin to grow hoarse. 

 

“Gosh,” Waverly says when the moon hangs high in the night, not quite able to stifle the entirety of her yawn. “I’ve been talkin’ for hours, Nicole. I’m so sorry.”

 

“There’s no need to apologise,” Nicole replies easily, standing and stretching her arms at her sides as Waverly does the same across from her. “I’ve barely noticed the time passin’, if I’m honest.”

 

Waverly levels her with a look that challenges the validity of her statement, but Nicole keeps her gaze, trying to demonstrate how true she holds that statement to be.  

 

“I know you’ll think I’m just sayin’ so, but this evenin’ has been fascinatin’, Waverly,” Nicole says gently, reaching to touch Waverly’s hand briefly. “I promise you. Your knowledge is rather…well, extraordinary, if I’m honest. And compelling. I don’t think I thought about the time for a moment.”

 

“I feel dreadful,” Waverly says, shaking her head insistently, refusing to believe Nicole’s assurance. “I’ve done nothin’ but talk  _ at _ you for  _ hours _ .”

 

“I assure you, if I wanted to change the subject, I would have,” Nicole affirms, her voice calm, but certain. “I wanted to hear about you. Not about borin’ old me.”

 

“I don’t think you’re borin’ at all,” Waverly says, mostly to herself, underneath her breath, but Nicole catches it, regardless. “But I do feel awful. I just get so carried away, when someone asks, and not so many people do, so when I get the opportunity to… I really am sorry, though. How about if I convince you to talk about yourself next time? Assuming I haven’t scared you off of spendin’ another evening with me, that is?”

 

“I’d like that  _ very _ much,” Nicole replies sincerely, because she  _ would _ . Because she won’t put pressure on Waverly by admitting as much, but this has been one of the better nights she can recall to living memory, and would have been just being in Waverly’s presence, let alone with the brilliant - and not as one-sided as Waverly fears - conversation. “If you think you could spend another night in my company?”

 

“Hmmm,” Waverly muses, teasing a little, prompting a smile to grace Nicole’s lips before she looks to Nicole seriously. “Yes, Nicole. I think I could. For now, though, I’d best let you find your bed? I hope you won’t be too tired in the mornin’?”

 

“I’ll be fine,” Nicole assures her. “I’ve slept a heck of a lot rougher than Gus’s Inn, with less sleep, and that’s without a stomach full of food. I hope I haven’t kept  _ you _ ?”

 

“Like I said to you,” Waverly starts, her voice drifting a little before she comes back to finish her sentence. “I’m not much of a sleeper. It’ll be hours before I do. Although, who knows? Maybe all I needed was some small furry weight, warmin’ my feet at night.”

 

Nicole smiles before they both turn to look at the small chest rise and fall rhythmically, completely oblivious to the two heartbeats dancing delicately around one another while she sleeps on soundly.

 

“Will you be okay with her?” Nicole asks, walking over to bid goodnight to Oakley, fast asleep in a ball on top of Waverly’s bedding. “Because I can take her, if you’re…”

 

“We’ll be  _ just _ fine,” Waverly says confidently. “I promise. I’m lookin’ forward to havin’ the company, if I’m honest. I don’t mind bein’ here by myself, but… it’s nice knowin’ I’ll have another little soul here with me. Thank you, Nicole. Again. I still can’t quite believe she’s mine.”

 

“I’m glad the two of you took to each other,” Nicole replies warmly, beaming at the way Waverly casts another longing glance at Oakley’s small, sleeping form. 

 

She digs her hands into her pockets, tilting her head and watching Waverly distracted for a moment, frowning at the unfamiliar object her hand closes around, before she remembers what the item is.

 

“Oh,” Nicole says suddenly, before Waverly turns to her with a frown.

 

“Is everything alright?” Waverly asks, concerned, turning to face Nicole fully.

 

“Yes,” Nicole says happily, withdrawing the small wrapped package from her pocket. “More than. I forgot I had something small with me, is all…For you.”

 

“For me?” Waverly queries, her forehead lining in question. “But you…”

 

She doesn’t finish her sentence, but Nicole knows what she means to say. But you already brought me a gift. But you’ve already given me your evening.

 

“I found it before I came across our young Miss Oakley,” Nicole explains, not wanting to seem like she’s trying too hard to buy, or otherwise persuade or influence Waverly’s attentions. “It’s only a small thing. It’s just… I saw it at the store today with Chrissy, and I thought you might like it.”

 

She hands Waverly the small package, smiling as Waverly takes it with a slightly shaky grip before she unwraps it delicately, sighing when she reveals the wrapped length of ribbon. 

 

“ _ Nicole _ ,” she breathes, holding the ribbon to the light to inspect the detail. “It’s…“

 

“It’s only small,” Nicole says again, trying to rationalise the extra gift, worried she’s gone too far, and kicking herself for giving Waverly something else. “I’m sorry if it’s too…”

 

“It’s not…” Waverly replies, and Nicole watches as her eyes start to well, tears collecting in the corners. “It’s… no one’s…”

 

“I’m sorry, Waverly,” Nicole hastens to say, leaning down to try and offer some comfort, having obviously upset Waverly. “I didn’t mean to…”

 

“It’s not…” Waverly says shakily before she clears her throat, steeling herself and looking to Nicole with more focused eyes. “I’m sorry, it’s only, very few people in my life have been generous enough to help me celebrate my birthday, and here you are, someone who I’ve only known for a handful of days, and you’re…”

 

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Nicole tries to offer again. “I’m truly so very sorry.”

 

“I’m not upset,” Waverly returns, stepping closer to Nicole to help demonstrate her point when Nicole’s expression says _ I don’t believe you _ . “I’m not, Nicole. It’s just…it’s very kind of you, and I’m not so used to kindness like this.”

 

“I’m very sorry to have to advise that you’re going to have to get used to it,” Nicole says, her voice gently playful when she can see that Waverly really is okay. “Because as long as you’ll have me for company, you’re going to have to abide things such as this.”

 

“Well,” Waverly says with a playful tone of her own before turning to walk over to her armoire. “In that case, you’re going to have to abide something similar yourself.”

 

She scoops something off the top of the piece of furniture, Nicole doesn’t see what exactly, until Waverly walks back to her, gesturing for Nicole to hold out her hands, before placing a small glass phial into them.

 

Nicole frowns, confused for a moment, before Waverly opens her mouth to explain. 

 

“It’s… now that I’m about to explain it, somethin’ that sounds terribly vain. I don’t mean it to be, I promise, it’s just…” Waverly says, and Nicole can see her questioning her own actions, so she tries to soften her own expression in an attempt to encourage Waverly a little. “It’s the perfume I wear. You seemed to enjoy the smell of the tea I made the other mornin’, and this is one of the complementary scents. It just so happens to be the one I favour myself, too, and I thought… I mean, I wondered if you might like a small measure of it yourself. If you like it, I’d happily set aside some more the next time I make some. And if you don’t, that’s more than okay, too, Nicole. I promise I won’t be offended if you set it in the bottom of your things, and never take the stopper out, it’s just… I wanted to say thank you. For spendin’ the evenin’ with me.” 

 

“This is for me?” Nicole asks breathily, her turn to be rendered near speechless now as she holds the small glass bottle in her hands like the treasure it is. 

 

“If you’d like it?” Waverly says, watching Nicole carefully as she turns the phial over. “It’s okay if you don’t, Nicole, truly.”

 

“No,” Nicole says quickly. “I do, I really do, it’s just… I’m not overly used to recievin’ gifts myself, you see, and I’m just a little…”

 

She runs her thumb over the smooth glass, scarcely able to believe she’s actually holding it. And, honestly, it could be water for all Nicole minds, but the fact that this is Waverly’s perfume, the scent that Nicole  _ dreams _ of, it’s worth more than gold. 

 

“Touched,” Nicole finishes finally, looking to Waverly with slightly cloudy eyes of her own. “I’m  _ touched _ , Waverly. I don’t… I don’t know what to say?”

 

“I find _ thank you _ often works well in situations like this?” Waverly returns with a wink, and Nicole can tell she’s trying to lighten the mood, to make this a little less intimidating for Nicole. 

 

“Thank you,” Nicole says, smiling at Waverly’s light teasing. “Really, Waverly. I…”

 

“I’m glad you like it, Nicole,” Waverly says kindly, reaching for Nicole’s elbow, to press her touch like a kiss there. Light, but like she’s trying to tell Nicole  _ it’s okay.  _ “I’m really glad you like it.”

 

“Thank you for the evenin’, as well,” Nicole says, watching Waverly’s hand as it drops back to her side before looking to her eyes. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve had such a pleasant one.”

 

“Nor can I,” Waverly replies warmly, and her smile heats every last drop of Nicole’s blood, because she looks like she means it. Really, really,  _ means _ it. “And I’m especially glad that I didn’t bore you into a stupor.”

 

“ _ Never _ ,” Nicole winks back, more than a little satisfied when Waverly blushes in return. “In fact, I’d love to borrow a book sometime, if you’d be happy to lend me one. I wasn’t just sayin’ so when I said it was fascinating.”

 

“You would?” Waverly asks brightly, and Nicole is so glad she had thought to ask, because Waverly reads it as the genuine interest it is. 

 

“Absolutely,” Nicole returns, casting a glance to the rather intimidatingly stacked shelves. “Although, it’s probably best to start somewhere reasonably simple. I fear I won’t have as much of a brain for it as you.”

 

“Simple, we can do,” Waverly says excitedly, skipping over to run her finger along the spines of the books. “I think this will do, as a start?”

 

She returns to Nicole’s side with a volume that looks to cover useful herbs and remedies found from simple plant applications, something that Nicole would potentially benefit from in a very useful day-to-day way. 

 

“Don’t feel like you need to take it,” Waverly says, shifting from foot to foot nervously as Nicole thumbs through the first few pages. “I just… you might find a few things in here that might be helpful?”

 

“Absolutely,” Nicole breathes, already having found at least one thing she can very practically use. “I mean, I have a basic knowledge of what to try and eat and what  _ not _ to locally, but that’s about as far as I can claim to understand. This will be immensely helpful, Waverly. Thank you.”

 

“Thank you for listening,” Waverly replies shyly. “I can’t tell you how much it means that you’re interested. Truly, Nicole. Tonight has been…”

 

“I know,” Nicole says easily. “As it has been for me, too.”

 

Nicole can feel the evening coming to a close now. She can feel the air start to still around them both again, she can feel the warmth of Waverly’s forearm where it rests only an inch from her own. Waverly is looking up at her, like she’s trying to read some unknown language in the freckles scattered across the bridge of Nicole’s nose, and she knows what she wants to do now, but she’s  _ terrified _ at the same time. 

 

She wants to lean down, to close the small distance between them, and press her lips sweetly to Waverly’s, and listen to time  _ stop _ around them. 

 

She wants to pull Waverly to her, with her hands gently on Waverly’s arms, she wants to feel Waverly sigh against her chest as the air leaves her lungs in a rush, she wants to kiss her and feel the end of the world. 

 

But she’s terrified. 

 

Because she  _ thinks _ she’s read the signs correctly, she  _ thinks _ Waverly understands her intentions, and reciprocated at least some of her feelings in return, but she doesn’t  _ know _ . Not for certain. 

 

And perhaps if she didn’t have the history and ghost of Shae at her back, watching her every move and breath with Waverly, she might be more carefree and willing to put her heart on the line. But it hadn’t just been bad before, it had been  _ tragic _ , and both she and Shae had put her in a position she had not been comfortable with, and she will not do that to Waverly, too. 

 

She won’t. She refuses. So if that means she has to play this slow and safe, holding back until she’s sure this is something Waverly wants, too, then she will. 

 

Because she had loved Shae, with all of her heart, but things feel different with Waverly. Even now, it feels different. It feels bigger,  _ deeper _ somehow, like they’re connected at more points than one. Or two. Or ten. 

 

And she thinks that’s what Waverly is waiting for, for Nicole to lean down and start a new universe between their lips. 

 

But she’s not  _ sure _ . 

 

So she holds back. 

 

For now. 

 

And she knows the second she steps back that she’s made a mistake, because Waverly’s face falls, an infinitesimal amount, barely discernible, but it  _ falls _ . 

 

Because she  _ had _ wanted Nicole, too. 

 

And damn it, she wants so desperately to lean in and fix her mistake, her misgiving, but she knows it’s too late, in this moment at least. She knows she’ll have to wait now. 

 

She wants to kick herself or swear or do  _ something _ , because she’s letting a shadow of days past rule her life  _ still _ , even now, but then she tries to calm herself, because it’s done. In this moment, it’s done. And she just needs to focus on creating another moment for them now, so she can right that wrong. 

 

Nicole burns to kiss her, but she can’t. Maybe she can do the next best thing, though. 

 

Waverly exhales slowly next to her, and Nicole smiles as another yawn makes its way across Waverly’s small frame before she tilts her head with a suggestion. 

 

“Time for me to take my leave, I think?” Nicole asks, trying to infuse her expression with as much warmth as she can in the face of her lack of physical attention. “As much I’d like to stay, I can’t have you yawnin’ to all your customers tomorrow. You’ll never have me back.”

 

“You want to come back?” Waverly asks hopefully, and Nicole bites her lip in response, because she’s an idiot for making Waverly question herself for even a second. 

 

“Very much so,” Nicole replies easily. “If I haven’t outstayed all my future welcomes by stayin’ so late?”

 

“Never,” Waverly says, shaking her head in an attempt, Nicole thinks, to hide the tears collected at the corner of her eyes in relief, before she shakes herself right. “You’d best be gettin’ to sleep yourself, Deputy, or the Sheriff’ll have me cuffed as soon as he sees you.”

 

Nicole goes about gathering her things, setting the book carefully in the basket, with her gun easily accessible on top of that to save having to restrap it to her calf for the quick walk across the road. She nestles the small, precious phial in the bottom of her dress pocket before she turns to Waverly, ready for the shorter woman to walk her down the stairs. 

 

She casts one last glance to find Oakley still fast asleep, before winking at Waverly and following her down the stairs. She makes to walk across the front of the shop before she remembers something Chrissy had said about another entrance. 

 

“Waverly,” Nicole asks curiously. “I hope you won’t think this a strange thing to ask, but is there another entrance to the shop that isn’t the front door?”

 

“Oh,” Waverly says suddenly. “Yes, there is.”

 

She turns, walking to the end of the counter where it meets the wall, before placing her palms down on the wood panelling in an area that, to Nicole, is indiscernible from the rest. She drops to the floor, just out of sight, and Nicole hears a small  _ click _ before Waverly rises, resets her palms, pushes hard, and a door shape reveals itself from the wood. 

 

“It’s not meant to be secret,” Waverly says, blushing a little sheepishly. “I mean, Doc built it in for me at Wynonna’s beckoning so I’d have another exit in case anything set fire or the like. It opens out into the alley behind the shop.”

 

“I don’t mean to make it seem like I’m tryin’ to hide, but I think it’s probably for the best that I leave this way if I’m here after the shop closes?” Nicole says carefully, because she needs to make sure she words this in such a way that Waverly doesn’t take a drop of offence from it, because that’s not how she means it. Not at all. She’s trying to keep Waverly, to keep them both, safe. 

 

Well, as safe as she can. 

 

“Oh,” Waverly breathes in understanding. “Just in case…”

 

“I need you to promise me you understand that it’s not because I don’t want to be seen here after dark, because I don’t give a damn about what other people think, Waverly, but I don’t want… I think it’s best, for now at least,” Nicole says, a conscious meaning behind every word. “But you have to promise me you understand it’s not because I’m at  _ all _ worried about what people think of me, okay?”

 

“I understand,” Waverly says warmly, nodding easily. “I promise, Nicole.”

 

“Good,” Nicole breathes in relief. Because the last thing she wanted now was for Waverly to feel in any way worse about the evening, and to have any more doubt in Nicole’s intentions. “That’s good, I’m sorry, Waverly. I know it’s a load of nonsense, but…”

 

“It’s okay,” Waverly says with a soft smile as she reaches to pull the door ajar slightly so Nicole can see that it leads outside. “You’re forgettin’ I’ve lived with these people and their backwards thinking for years.”

 

“One day it’ll be different,” Nicole says, trying to reassure her, even though she knows it’s unlikely to happen in either of their lifetimes. 

 

“Until then, a back door seems a small price to pay for a lovely evenin’,” Waverly returns thoughtfully, placing her hand on Nicole’s arm next to where the basket is propped over it. 

 

“A small price, indeed,” Nicole says, steeling herself. Because she might have missed the opportunity to leave Waverly with a parting goodnight kiss, but she can leave her with the next best thing. 

 

She leans in, placing her hand at Waverly’s elbow, watching as Waverly’s eyes track her movement like a hawk after a mouse, her eyes fluttering closed just before Nicole presses a kiss to her cheek.

 

It’s tempting to place it closer to the edge of her lips, but Nicole doesn’t want to push too far, not with an earlier miss in her hands, so she settles for safe, her body singing when Waverly’s breath catches, and then releases, in a shaky sigh. 

 

It’s chaste, but she lingers, and Waverly responds  _ beautifully _ . 

 

“Good night, Waverly Earp,” Nicole says softly when she pulls back, smiling at the way Waverly’s entire body seems to have slackened, her cheeks darkening with a blush. 

 

Her hand moves to cover the place where Nicole’s lips were a moment ago, her own lips slightly parted, her eyes glassy. 

 

“Good night, Deputy Haught,” Waverly returns airily, her eyes flashing with something that looks a little like confusion, but Nicole isn’t certain. 

 

“Thank you again, for the evenin’,” Nicole says, trying to read Waverly’s expression, but not quite finding something she can put her finger on. “It’s been wonderful.”

 

“It’s been my pleasure,” Waverly replies, coming back to herself with a smile. But it doesn’t  _ quite _ reach her eyes, and Nicole’s heart falters a little, because maybe that had been too much. “Sincerely. Thank you. For everythin’, Nicole.”

 

“I’ll call on you in the mornin’, if you’d like?” Nicole asks, trying to test the water, because she’s really not sure what Waverly’s small withdrawal means. 

 

“I’d like that very much,” Waverly says with softer smile, one that reaches a little further than before, and Nicole bends toward its warmth, concerned still, because it’s not quite as wide as before.  

 

She gives Waverly one last parting glance that she hopes says  _ I’m sorry,  _ and _ I wanted more, but I don’t want to push you further than I know you want _ , before she slips out the door Waverly holds open for her, waiting on the other side until she hears the  _ click _ of the lock back in place and then walking down the alley towards the Main Street. 

 

It’s dark, sometime well after midnight, if Nicole’s read on the height of the moon is correct. The street is deserted, and the scent of  _ Waverly _ lingers overlong, and their evening had been wonderful, but Nicole can’t help but feel like she’d made a mistake in its final minutes. 

 

Maybe she should have dropped it. Maybe she shouldn’t have taken the opportunity to right her earlier wrong. 

 

Maybe she shouldn’t have nursed the idea at all. 

 

She casts her eyes around the deserted, darkened street, looking for some sign of danger or concern, but there’s nothing, save the gentle summer night’s breeze, a little cool on her skin. 

 

Sighing, Nicole makes her way with a slightly heavy heart across the road, looking left and right and left again before she finds herself face to face with the door of the Inn. It’s unlocked, and Nicole is surprised to find Curtis asleep at the front desk, a book beneath his arms in the candlelight, when she walks in. 

 

She smiles at Gus’s obvious thoughtfulness, sending him down here to wait for her to return. Nicole is careful not to wake him, but blows the candle out, lest it knock over still lit, before leaving the basket, removing Waverly’s book and her gun, outside the kitchen door, and then waking as quietly as possible up the stairs, wincing with every one that creaks. 

 

It takes her a while to get herself out of her dress, although it’s easier to do this than the other way around. She at least has some experience with having helped Shae out of hers enough to understand the mechanics, even without being able to see the back of the garment properly. 

 

She’s not angry at herself, as she strips and pulls her soft nightshirt on, because the rest of the date had gone so well, she’s just disappointed she had let herself down at the last hurdle. 

 

Because Waverly had been disappointed when she hadn’t given her a goodnight kiss, but then Nicole  _ had, _ kind of, and Waverly had  _ shone _ for a second, before her face had fallen into an expression of mild confusion. 

 

And maybe she hadn’t been clear enough regarding her own intentions. Maybe she  _ had _ given Waverly mixed signals. Slowly, it dawns on Nicole, and she begins to understand how her actions might have been misconstrued, no kiss to a half of one that could be taken as something expressed in friendship, too. 

 

_ Damn it, Haught _ , Nicole thinks to herself, setting the small glass phial down on the top of her dressing table.  _ You’ve gone and messed things up royally now.  _

 

Except, maybe she hasn’t. Maybe she just needs to make herself a little clearer.  _ If _ Waverly is still interested in hearing her out. 

 

She’s about to climb into bed when a thought comes to her, reluctant as she is to see the evening come to an end. Walking back to the dresser, she picks up the glass bottle carefully before releasing the stopper and closing her eyes. 

 

_ Waverly,  _ floods Nicole’s senses as she breathes the light, rich scent in. It smells exactly like her, soft notes and the deeper ones,  _ Waverly, Waverly, Waverly.  _

 

She opens her eyes to the sight of Waverly’s shadow at her window, obviously about to crawl into bed herself. It’s too far to see clearly, but she thinks, Nicole  _ thinks, _ she sees Waverly glance her way and smile. 

 

She closes the stopper, reluctant to allow too much of the fragrance to escape, intent on treasuring the small gift, in the event that she has done something irreparable. 

 

The bed beckons to her, and for a second, Nicole sees a flash of something that could be a spectre or a dream or a premonition, of Waverly in the bed, waiting for her, smiling as she turns the cover back, calling Nicole to her. 

 

She’ll make amends tomorrow, Nicole thinks to herself sternly. She’ll make amends, and she’ll close that gap, and she’ll leave Waverly without doubt nor reason to be confused as to where Nicole’s chess pieces sit on the board between them, handing her the board so that Waverly might set her own. 

 

Sliding between the sheets, the ghost of Waverly Earp softly humming some long-forgotten tune of Nicole’s childhood, Nicole submits to her exhaustion.

 

Sleep grips her limbs and pulls her underwater, slowly, peacefully, and with the smell of Waverly in her hands and her bed, Nicole  _ sleeps _ .

 

-

 


	7. seven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> Welcome to the first chapter of Waverly's POV! We'll be here for about 4 chapters, I think. I'll be changing to and from a couple of times in this story because as much as I enjoy writing Nicole, I adore writing Waverly and I couldn't not get in her head in this adventure at least a couple of times. I'll make it clear when I'm switching but you'll know pretty quick if you miss the message at the beginning.
> 
> One other quick note before we get started, I've had a bit of a barrage of anon messages on tumblr kind of complaining about the slow burn and I wanted to address that really quickly here. This fic is 23 chapters long and we're on 7, the slow burn is literally only beginning so if it's something that really bugs you, I'd maybe save a few chapters up and read them all in one go. I know it's frustrating for some of you but it's the way I've chosen to tell this story so I hope you can get on board with it!
> 
> Finally, before we begin, there's an interaction at the end of this chapter that's a little bit complicated. I just want to assure everyone that it's all part of the story, not out of place for the time, but I don't use it lightly. It's a key part of the narrative and we'll see the flow on effects of it play out over the next few chapters. 
> 
> Weekly shoutout to @iamthegaysmurf for all her amazing beta and historical accuracy help (as well as everything else) too!
> 
> Enough from me, get onto reading! x

 

**WAVERLY'S POV**

 

-

  


Waverly Earp is confused.

 

Lying in her bed, with her new companion nestled into her side by her ribs, Waverly Earp is _more_ confused, perhaps, than she has been in her entire life.

 

Oakley raises her head, yawning widely, sniffing the air to check for other scents that would cause her - or her new owner - alarm, before she drops her satisfied head and drifts off again.

 

It’s before dawn, the glow of the sun only just beginning to rise in the background, and Waverly Earp is confused.

 

She hasn’t slept a great deal, she never _does_ , so it’s not that which concerns her. It’s the thought of how her evening with Nicole had ended last night.

 

Waverly is confused, because the evening had been going so well, as had all of their _other_ interactions thus far. Nicole had been attentive as she always was, polite and sweet and just a little forward, as Waverly had been hoping she would be, and then at the end, just when Waverly had been expecting Nicole to lean down and leave her with a goodnight kiss, she _hadn’t_.

 

She had paused, looked to Waverly like kissing her was the thing she wanted most in the world, but she _hadn’t_.

 

And Waverly knew she hadn’t been able to completely hide her disappointment at the fact that Nicole didn’t, hating knowing that Nicole had picked up on it. But she couldn’t help it, because every indication Nicole had given her was that _that_ was the direction the night was going to take.

 

That _that_ was the direction Nicole _wanted_ the night to take.

 

She thought Nicole was going to kiss her, but she hadn’t. And she thought Nicole liked her, but maybe she _didn’t_.

 

She thought Nicole liked her, and she thought Nicole knew that Waverly liked her, too. That Waverly had _wanted_ Nicole to kiss her. But maybe she hadn’t been clear enough.

 

It’s a damn delicate balance, Waverly thinks to herself, walking a sliver-thin line, because it’s just not appropriate to ask someone you barely know whether they’re interested in women or men, even when you _think_ you already know the answer.

 

But then Nicole _had_ confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that her inclination was toward the fairer sex, but she _still_ hadn’t kissed Waverly.

 

She hadn’t, and Waverly’s heart had fallen, but then Nicole had leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, and that had confused Waverly even _more_.

 

In the rising light of the morning, Waverly isn’t wholly certain where she stands with Nicole. She does have some small clues, however, that spark the glimmer of hope in her hands.

 

She knows Nicole is interested in women. She knows Nicole wanted to spend another evening with her. She knows Nicole was beyond touched by Waverly’s gift, and put up with far more of Waverly’s blathering than any other sane person who _wasn’t_ interested in her like that.

 

But she hadn’t kissed her.

 

Well, she hadn’t kissed her in the manner in which Waverly was hoping for. And she knows it means something, Nicole’s kiss on the cheek, she’s just not sure _what_ it means.

 

Waverly wants to think she had done it because she had really wanted to _kiss her,_ kiss her, but hadn’t wanted to cross a line, not if she wasn’t certain that’s what Waverly had wanted.

 

But, it could have been a token gesture, too. A demonstrated show of friendship, a pointed gesture instead of another more intimate one, not because that’s what she thought Waverly wanted, but because that was _all_ Nicole was interested in.

 

Because Nicole kisses Chrissy on the cheek, the way she had kissed Waverly, but she’s already assured Waverly she doesn’t think of Chrissy in that way.

 

 _Enough,_ Waverly thinks to herself suddenly. It’s enough. She’s not a silly little girl. She’s _a_ grown young woman, thank you very much. She just needs to make it clear to Nicole what _she_ wants, so Nicole can make it clear in return.

 

Because Nicole had said _another time_ , and she had almost suggested another date, too. Waverly just needs to know in what capacity she wants those to be.

 

And it can’t be difficult at all to clarify a few simple points like that.

 

 _Can_ it?

  


-

  


Waverly gets up and starts her morning routine with a quiet red shadow at her heels. She gets out of bed, washing quickly with the small bowl of fresh water before dressing herself for the day.

 

As soon as she makes herself minimally presentable to leave the warm confines of the shop, Waverly picks up the still sleepy pup, walking down the stairs. When she gets to the outline of the hidden door, she presses heavily against it with the weight of her body at the point of her hip, her hands obviously otherwise engaged. It’s a little awkward with a living bundle in her arms, but it’s a movement she’s done countless times with arms full of something or another to store outside and away from the shop.

 

The door pops open, and Waverly widens the gap with her foot before stepping out into the fresh morning air. Oakley wanders around for a while before setting to her business, walking another little circle around the outside area behind the shop, then moving back to sit on Waverly’s feet, indicating her readiness to return inside.

 

Waverly grins down at her new companion and her expressive little red face before picking Oakley back up and making her way inside to continue her morning routine on the second floor of the shop.

 

She sets Oakley back on the bed to watch her again, more than a little impressed at how docile the pup is, having expected her to be a ball of energy this morning after her enormous sleep yesterday, but she’s not. Instead she just looks up at Waverly as she breezes around the room getting ready, with a silently inquisitive look on her features.

 

Waverly sets the kettle to boil for her morning cup of tea before she finds a small bowl, filling it with some of the still cool kettle water and setting it in front of Oakley, smiling when she starts to lap at the water slowly.

 

She walks over to the table, looking through the little neatly piled leftovers, picking out a bit of dried meat before walking over and bending down next to Oakley.

 

“Good morning, beautiful,” Waverly says softly, running her hand down Oakley’s back, smiling when the pup’s tail starts to wag happily. “Would you like a small bite to eat? I’ll see about gettin’ somethin’ you’ll like better today, but you might want a bit of this for now? You must be hungry, huh?”

 

Oakley sniffs the meat hesitantly, and Waverly can tell she _wants_ to take it from Waverly, but she’s holding back for one reason or another, so Waverly tries speaking to her again softly.

 

“It’s alright, girl,” Waverly coos, breaking the piece of meat into smaller sized pieces as she speaks. “This is for you, it’s okay to take it.”

 

The pup looks at Waverly before moving forward, taking a piece gently between her teeth, beginning to chew at Waverly’s encouraging. She finishes the piece, and another, and another before Waverly leaves her with the small pile and returns to her morning chores.

 

She makes the bed, tidies the table, and rearranges the few leftovers, still more than enough for her dinner tonight unless Gus brings something over, before the kettle has warmed enough to pour herself a drink.

 

The little wooden box next to the range where the kettle is cooling contains a small amount of tisane, just enough to prevent Waverly having to go down into the shop to make herself her morning drink each day. She makes herself a cup before taking a seat at the table.

 

Oakley comes to sit at her feet as Waverly blows the rising steam off the cup in an attempt to cool the liquid further, and she smiles down at the pup before picking a few pieces of dried fruit from the pile of leftovers in lieu of an actual breakfast.

 

Waverly sits, drinking her tea slowly, her mind drifting to Nicole again, as it always does the second she has more than a few minutes alone.

 

Nicole, who swept into town on a spring breeze. Nicole, who came and changed the shape of Waverly’s entire life without even knowing the half of it.

 

Because Waverly’s never been interested in boys. For a _long_ time, it was just something she assumed she would grow into, that she was a slower bloomer than some of the other girls her own age; than Chrissy. But then adolescence came and went, and Waverly was left with nothing.

 

Well, not _nothing_.

 

Because boys have never, ever turned her head, but she’s always been _fascinated_ by women.

 

And it hasn’t always been a crush on the female side of the population, per se. It’s _shifted_ over time; beginning with a deep fondness for her school teacher when she was a small girl, to a lit fascination for Miss Jessie, the woman who runs the local dress shop, before finally it began to settle into something more solid —an admiration for some of the other girls Waverly’s own age, something more closely aligned with the kind of feelings she currently has for Nicole.

 

Because she has feelings for Nicole, make no mistake. It’s not friendship she’s after, or simple companionship like she has with Chrissy.

 

Waverly likes Nicole. She really _likes_ Nicole. In an _I’d like her to kiss me and never ever stop_ kind of way. She _really_ likes Nicole.

 

And she’s had feelings like this before —echoes of the depth of the feelings she feels for Nicole now—  for years, but she’s never really truly known what that _meant_ . What that _made_ her.

 

She’s heard whispers before, of men in town that married a woman, but took other men to their bed sometimes, and the reaction was always negative. In fact, negative was probably too kind a word for the type of things she hears people say in reference to people that commit acts like that.

 

But she’s never understood it, because actually, it never sounded heretical or ungodly or like they were taken with the devil, it always just sounded like a different kind of love.

 

She remembers asking Wynonna about it one night a few years ago when she’d stayed upstairs here, sleeping on the floor, having been stuck in town on account of the storm raging outside. About what that _meant —_ two people of the same gender together, because it simply _wasn’t_ spoken about openly— and whether that was as bad for two women as it was for two men.

 

Waverly can remember the moment so clearly, Wynonna’s expression freezing on her face, before she’d explained carefully that it was considered almost as bad for two women as two men, before asking Waverly why she had brought it up.

 

She almost hadn’t said anything. She wouldn’t have dared to with anyone else, even Chrissy, this early on. But Wynonna was her sister, Wynonna loved her _unconditionally_ , like no one else in her life _ever_ had. So she’d burst promptly into tears, and cried through sobs that it was because she thought she was one of those women, the ones who didn’t love men.

 

And she hadn’t been expecting Wynonna’s support. She hadn’t been expecting Wynonna to sweep her into her arms and tell her it was going to be alright - which Waverly knew was a lie - and that she loved Waverly absolutely, regardless - which Waverly knew was true — before carefully explaining to Waverly that, while it was okay with her, it wouldn’t be to everyone else, and that she needed to be careful. Very, very careful.

 

Which Waverly had been. For the two or three years that followed that conversation. Ignoring every ache in her heart and turn of her head. Until she met Nicole.

 

And they hadn’t been easy years either, because she’s been _constantly_ conflicted the entire time. Did she really feel like that? Because she hadn’t even _kissed_ another girl yet, she hadn’t ever touched anyone’s hand in anything beyond friendship, so how did she really _know_? How did she know she wasn't just wrong? That she wasn’t just confused, instead?

 

She had been confused and conflicted and _lost_.

 

Until she met Nicole.

 

Until the moment she walked into Waverly’s shop, tipped her hat into her hands, and smiled. And Waverly had fallen.

 

Waverly had _known_.

 

“What do you think, little one?” Waverly says gently to Oakley, fast asleep on her feet again. “Do you think she likes me? Or not?”

 

The furry red head looks up at her soft question, yawning in a way that Waverly chooses to take as a _yes, of course she does_ , before sweeping Oakley into her arms.

 

“I don’t know about you, girl, but I feel like you could hardly have wandered into our lives at a better time, huh?” Waverly asks, bumping her nose against the pup’s, smiling when she tries to lick her chin. “You’re going to be a surprise for my customers today, that’s for sure.”

 

She stands, holding Oakley to her chest as she walks around the room with her cup of tea, looking for something softer she can take downstairs for the pup to sit on. She walks to the wardrobe, setting her cup down before pulling the door open, spying an old blanket folded neatly at the bottom that she uses to throw on the bed during the winter.

 

“Gus’ll kill me for givin’ you this,” Waverly smiles, pulling the blanket out one-handed before dropping it on the end of her bed. “But I think it’ll be perfect, don’t you?”

 

She sets the pup down on the end of the bed while she finishes her morning routine, sweeping her hair up into a ponytail and fixing it with the length of ribbon Nicole had gifted her with the night before, a token for Nicole to see when she calls in this morning. She picks up the larger glass bottle containing the same scent she had given Nicole the night before, dotting a drop on her wrists and over her pulse at her neck, before checking her appearance quickly in the mirror.

 

Waverly takes a small sip of another bottle she has on her dresser, peppermint and ingestible, to freshen her breath before she’s finally ready.

 

“Alright,” Waverly says to Oakley, turning to pick both her and the blanket up before making her way down the stairs. “Welcome to your new morning routine, Miss Oakley. Let’s see if we can’t find you somewhere to sit for the day, huh?”

  


-

  


It’s perhaps an hour before she catches sight of Nicole exiting the Inn, and Waverly’s heart begins to thump quicker and quicker as she makes her way across the road.

 

Part in anticipation, and part in nerves, because she’s excited to see Nicole, of _course_ she is, but she’s nervous, too. Because what if Nicole takes the opportunity to let Waverly down easy first thing, so she doesn’t spend the day worrying about where Nicole stands.

 

But then again, what if she does the _opposite_.

 

She glances to Oakley, curled in a ball on her blanket, behind the counter, but visible through the gap where Waverly ducks under to cross to the other side, trying to emulate the pup’s sleepy calm before sliding beneath the countertop to unbolt the door, ushering Nicole inside.

 

“Good mornin’, Deputy,” Waverly says warmly as she holds the door open for Nicole to walk through, dropping her hat into her hands.

 

And Waverly had liked the dress, she’d _really_ liked the dress, but there’s something about seeing Nicole in this attire, the one she knows Nicole feels far more comfortable in, that makes her heart beat faster still.

 

She takes careful note of Nicole’s expressions this morning, even more than she does normally, and she’s pleasantly surprised to find no difference in the way Nicole normally greets her, smiling as brightly, appearing to drink in as much of Waverly’s appearance as she normally does.

 

No change whatsoever.

 

Until Nicole speaks, that is.

 

“Good mornin’ to you, too, Miss Earp,” Nicole says, and she’s warm, but there’s something in her voice that Waverly can’t quite place. Hesitation maybe, and nervousness, too?

 

Could she be just as nervous about how Waverly feels as she is about how Nicole feels? It can’t possibly be the case, though, because Nicole is confident and she knows what she’s doing because she’s done this before, courting women, so why should she be nervous?

 

Unless Waverly truly has done a terrible job of making it clear just how much she is so very interested in Nicole. _God_ , Waverly thinks to herself as her stomach drops, _what if she really doesn’t know?_

 

And what if that makes her pull away, because she thinks she’s trying to make her interest known to someone who is completely _not_ interested.

 

She needs to fix this, and she needs to fix this _fast_.

 

“How did you sleep?” Waverly asks Nicole, reaching to run her touch down Nicole’s arm briefly, a glancing touch, but enough for Nicole to realise Waverly isn’t interested in moving backwards with their small displays of physical affection. “Okay, I hope? You’re not too tired today? I really am sorry to have kept you so late last night.”

 

“It’s more than okay,” Nicole assures her, her eyes glancing down to track the movement of Waverly’s hand as it falls from her body. “I slept wonderfully, actually.”

 

“But you’re a little tired?” Waverly asks, looking at the ever so slightly dark spaces beneath Nicole’s eyes.

 

“No,” Nicole tries to reason, just as an enormous yawn tears its way from her lungs.

 

Waverly fixes her with a look that challenges that statement completely, and Nicole returns her look sheepishly, shrugging gently. “Okay, maybe a little, but I don’t mind at all.”

 

“You know, I’ve you've got a few minutes, I can make you somethin’ that might help with that?” Waverly asks, the guilt at Nicole’s fatigue heavy against her chest.

 

“You don’t have to trouble yourself,” Nicole replies, and Waverly’s worries she’s just a little anxious to leave, but she doesn’t think that’s the case, she thinks that’s just Nicole’s _don’t bother on my account_ mentality.

 

“I don’t mind at all,” Waverly returns warmly, hoping Nicole can feel how much she’s trying to infuse into her words. How glad she is to see her.

 

“Only if you don’t mind,” Nicole says hesitantly, her eyes lifting a little at the offer. “And only if you’ll have some, too.”

 

“Of course,” Waverly replies softly before she sets herself off to making the drink for the both of them.  

 

“How did you sleep?” Nicole asks quietly when Waverly busies herself on the other side of the counter. “How was our Miss Oakley? Did she settle alright once I left?”

 

“Bend down and say hello yourself,” Waverly says, smiling as she gestures to Oakley still asleep on the folded blanket. “I don’t think she heard you, or she would have come and said hi the second you walked in.”

 

Nicole’s face lights up when she peers over the counter and sees the pup, crouching down to look through the hollowed space beneath the counter top.

 

“Good mornin’ to you, too, Oakley,” Nicole says as she reaches forward, holding her hand out to for the pup to recognise her scent.

 

Waverly stops what she’s doing for a moment, watching the small interaction between the two of them. Oakley raises her head at the sound of Nicole calling her name softly, her little tail wagging excitedly as she gets up off the blanket to walk towards Nicole.

 

“I think she’s happy to see you,” Waverly laughs as the pup clambers up into Nicole’s lap where she’s crouched down, licking Nicole’s hands while Nicole tries to pet her.

 

“I think you might be right,” Nicole laughs in reply, smiling down at Oakley, trying to lick as much of Nicole’s bare skin by way of a greeting as possible. “Did you have a good night with your Mama? I hope you kept an eye out for her, even if you were a tired little thing. You know, I thought Coonhounds were supposed to be quite vocal, but she’s as quiet as a mouse.”

 

“I know,” Waverly replies, watching the two of them with a widening grin. “She’s hardly made a sound since you arrived with her last night. I think this is the most active I’ve seen her, too.”

 

“Maybe she was just on her best behaviour for you, huh?” Nicole says, throwing a little wink at Waverly as Oakley starts to calm down. “Isn’t that right, girl? You just wanted to show your Mama how good you can be?”

 

The pup crawls back to her little pile of blankets after another minute or so, evidently exhausted by her small show of affection for Nicole, and without the distraction, Waverly is suddenly aware of the fact that she and Nicole are alone again.

 

“I’m glad she was well-behaved last night,” Nicole says, and Waverly doesn’t miss the way she settles on comfortably neutral conversation. “I was a little worried I’d leave you with this pup that would come alive the second I left, and you’d hate me by mornin’.”

 

“Not at all,” Waverly replies, shaking her head at Nicole as she stands to meet Waverly’s gaze. “Even if she was an absolute monster, I could still never…”

 

“You’re wearin’ the ribbon,” Nicole says a little distractedly, not cutting Waverly off exactly, rather just speaking aloud the thought.

 

“Oh,” Waverly replies, her hand finding the ribbon in her hair as her eyes set over the bandana she had given Nicole on her second day, around Nicole’s neck . “Yeah, I… it’s beautiful, Nicole. I couldn’t wait to wear it.

 

“Oh,” Nicole echoes back, her expression a little lost as she looks over Waverly, like she’s searching for something that she can’t _quite_ see, hidden in Waverly’s eyes.

 

“It’s nice to see you in your attire, too,” Waverly comments, smiling shyly, appraising Nicole’s return to the clothing she’s so fond of.

 

“Waverly, I…” Nicole begins, and Waverly’s breath catches _,_ because she thinks that this is it, before Nicole’s voice trails off, not quite full of the courage Waverly knows they both need to continue the conversation.

 

God, it’s so frustrating, this little dance they’re stepping through together this morning, because Waverly wants so badly to just flat out _ask_ Nicole where her head is relative to Waverly’s own, but the fact that Nicole _hasn’t_ holds her back.

 

Because maybe there’s a reason for that. Maybe she’s not ready to, or Waverly had done or said something last night that Nicole doesn’t want to have to discuss this morning.

 

She wants to respect Nicole’s wishes, she does, truly, but she thinks it could only be helpful to have them on even ground, to lay out where she is clearly for Nicole, so she takes a breath, setting the armour against her skin lest she need it, and she’s a second away from opening her mouth to speak, when her course of action is diverted.

 

Because, of _course_ the running of the universe has a completely contradictory idea for the day that doesn’t involve allowing Waverly to rectify things up so quickly.

 

One of Waverly’s customers comes barrelling through the door, almost startling them both, completely oblivious to the conversation the two of them are about to engage in.

 

“Mornin’, Miss Earp,” the woman says warmly. “And you, too, Deputy. Out and about early I see?”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole replies cordially, inclining her head to the woman.

 

Anyone not familiar with Nicole’s tone of voice would miss the mostly concealed disappointment in Nicole’s words, but Waverly doesn’t. She offers Nicole a look in return that says _I’m so sorry_ and _please, can we continue this later,_ because actually having the conversation is out of the question with an audience now.

 

“Deputy…” Waverly starts, before Nicole beats her to it.

 

“I’d best be on my way,” Nicole says, casually and without much of the warmth Waverly has become so accustomed to hearing from her. “I’ll call by later, Miss Earp, if that would suit you? To come and check on your new housemate?”

 

“Of course” Waverly says, trying not to give her enthusiasm away too greatly in front of the other woman present. “Of course. That would be wonderful.”

 

Nicole gives her one last look that Waverly registers as vaguely sad, or regretful, or something of the like, before she inclines her head to Waverly, too, and then she’s gone.

 

She doesn’t realise until after Nicole’s out the door that she didn’t even stay for her tea.

  
  


-

  
  


The next few hours pass busily for Waverly, with a constant stream of customers coming through the door, and she estimates it’s about lunchtime before she has more than a few minutes to herself.

 

She rests her head on the counter atop her hands, her head aching with the thoughts racing through her mind all morning about Nicole, and what the heck does it all mean, and why had she left so quickly, and _what does she want, god, what does she think I want._

 

The silence and Oakley’s steady breathing below her calm her a little, and she decides to make use of the reprieve to walk Oakley out the back of the shop for some fresh air.

 

Picking the warm body up against her chest, Waverly makes her way to the hidden door, in a mirror of her actions from earlier in the morning.

 

She sets Oakley down once she pulls the door open with her foot again, watching as the pup wanders around for a while before picking a spot to her liking while Waverly leans heavily against the outside of the building for support.

 

It’s exhausting, this worry, and she knows Nicole is likely to be absolutely hectic today, continuing the search for the missing women, but Waverly wishes _so_ badly that she would come back in and see her, just for a moment, so that Waverly might hurry over the details of her own feelings, exorcising them out and away from her heart.

 

She closes her eyes again, inhaling and exhaling slowly in a measured way, trying to distract her own thoughts, very nearly succeeding until she hears the sound of someone walking into the shop.

 

Her heart leaps heavily in her chest, and she’s about to turn when a voice that isn’t Nicole’s floats down the length of the shop toward her.

 

“Wave?” Chrissy says curiously, unable to see Waverly where she’s leaning just to the side of the open doorway. “Are you there?”

 

“Hey, Chris,” Waverly answers warmly, swinging her head into view. “I’m out here.”

 

“Oh,” Chrissy replies, her tone excited, walking down the length of the shop. “Have you got your new companion out there?”

 

“Sure do,” Waverly returns before waving Chrissy down towards her and Oakley. “Want to come and say hello yourself?”

 

“Of course I do,” Chrissy answers happily, her smile wide as she approaches them, her expression melting a little when she sees the pup for the first time. “Oh, Waverly, she’s _gorgeous_.”

 

“Isn’t she just?” Waverly replies, grinning back and crouching down to call Oakley over to them, the thought of Nicole holding her on Waverly’s doorstep coming unbidden, but _lovely,_ to her mind’s eye. “Come here, girl. I want to introduce you to your new friend.”

 

Oakley isn’t sure of Chrissy at first, but then Chrissy bends down to the pup’s level, offering her hand, and Oakley stumbles forward a little awkwardly to meet her.

 

“What did you name her?” Chrissy asks, watching Oakley with wide eyes as the puppy takes a few hesitant steps towards her.

 

“Oakley,” Waverly answers, tilting her head to watch their interaction. “Annie Oakley, formally, but we thought Oakley was nice as her everyday name?”

 

“Well, Miss Annie, I think you’re beautiful,” Chrissy coos, patting the animal’s back once she moves a little closer to Chrissy, evidently comfortable enough to allow Chrissy to pet her. “The name is perfect, by the way, Wave.”

 

“You think so?” Waverly asks before bending down to pet Oakley as well. “I’m glad. Nicole seemed to like it, too.”

 

“I bet she did,” Chrissy says, her eyes narrowing at Waverly a little playfully, and Waverly knows she won’t have missed the inserted _we_ in her sentence before, either. “So, how was your evenin’ then? The pup obviously went down well?”

 

“How did _you_ know about her?” Waverly asks wryly, watching to catch the answer in Chrissy’s reply.

 

“Deputy Haught told me about her yesterday afternoon,” Chrissy replies casually, but she’s only teasing, her face folding into a smile at Waverly’s frown before she explains fully. “Sorry, Wave, I’m only teasin’. I saw her at the jail just after she came back into town from droppin’ her with Mattie, and she told me about her then.”

 

“Oh,” Waverly says in understanding as her mind ticks over, taking the information into account.

 

She knows it’s ridiculous to feel even a little bit jealous, because she’s not even a jealous person for a _start_ , but it’s hard to let the image of Nicole and Chrissy spending time together without her yesterday go, and it’s only exacerbated by the fact that she’s still worried Nicole doesn’t actually _like her,_ like her.

 

It’s not jealousy, Waverly realises then. It’s insecurity. She’s worried that _she_ isn’t _enough_ to keep Nicole’s attention. That she might not be what Nicole is looking for.

 

“Sorry, Chrissy,” Waverly says, shaking her head after a moment, trying to clear the thought from her mind. “I’m sorry, my mind’s somewhere else this mornin’.”

 

“Is everything alright?” Chrissy questions, her brow wrinkling in concern. “Last night _did_ go alright, didn’t it?”

 

“It did,” Waverly replies, nodding slowly. “It did, the beginning and middle were wonderful, it just… I’m worried I messed somethin’ up somewhere along the line.”

 

“What do you mean?” Chrissy asks gently. “How could you have…?”

 

Chrissy’s confusion is helpful, actually, because it says something to Waverly about the fact that she assumed the evening would go perfectly between the two of them. Which lends itself to the theory that Nicole _is_ interested. Maybe. Or maybe she’s just referring to the fact that she knows the two of them had always had good spots of conversation when they had spoken in the shop…

 

“It was fine, brilliant, _amazin_ ’ even,” Waverly admits a little dreamily. Because it _had_ been. “She was kind, and she listened to me ramblin’ on about this place and my interests for _hours,_ and she was interested, _genuinely_ , not just humouring me. At least I don’t think, anyway. And then there was a moment at the end when I thought maybe there was… when I thought… but now, I’m not sure if she feels the same way I do.”

 

“What?” Chrissy asks with a frown, unsure what Waverly’s implying a little vaguely before she _understands_. “Oh…”

 

She’s not implicit in what she says, because as much as Chrissy is her best friend and she so desperately wants to tell Chrissy every last detail, she knows their date - if that _is_ what it was - is something to hold between her and Nicole. For now at least.

 

“I’ve spent the whole mornin’ frettin’ about the whole thing, and-” Waverly says, her pulse running away with her as she begins to ramble.

 

“Waverly,” Chrissy cuts over her, holding her hands up, trying to placate Waverly. “Look, Wave, you need to calm yourself down, alright? You’re reading too much into this, you hear me? I’ve seen the way that Nicole looks…Look, it’s not my place, but from what she’s said to me, she definitely seemed interested, okay? Just… talk to _her_ , won’t you? I think you’ll find this is a situation you’ll be able to right pretty quickly when you do.”

 

“What does that…?” Waverly tries to ask, but Chrissy shakes her head instead, inhibiting further questioning.

 

“Uh, uh,” Chrissy smiles to her, shaking her head again. “Talk to _Nicole,_ okay? This is somethin’ you need to talk through with her. Now, what you _can_ tell me all about, is what you thought about that dress.”

 

“I thought it was lovely,” Waverly says honestly, her mind wandering to the thought of Nicole, completely unexpected at her doorstep, resplendent in deep blue. “I thought it was absolutely lovely.”

 

“I _can_ talk to you about that,” Chrissy offers, a little excitedly. “I’m so glad she wore it in the end. She was worried about it all day. I think she kept goin’ between her normal clothes and the dress for most of it.”

 

“She wanted to wear her normal things?” Waverly asks, frowning. “Then why did she…”

 

“She thought that was what you might’ve wanted her to wear,” Chrissy says gently, and Waverly feels a stab of guilt somewhere deep in her gut, wondering desperately what on earth she could have said or done to make Nicole think she wanted that. That she wasn’t _more_ than happy with…that she didn’t _love_ what Nicole ordinarily…..

 

“God, did I…” Waverly breathes, before Chrissy shakes her head quickly.

 

“No,” Chrissy says hurriedly. “No, Wave, it wasn’t anythin’ you said, I don’t think. I think she was just worried about makin’ sure she didn’t disappoint any preconception you had, alright? Look, I’m only tellin’ you this because…I know that you’re worrin’ about where her head’s at, and…what does somethin’ like that tell you, huh?”

 

“I don’t know…” Waverly says airily while her head spins, which is a half-truth, because she doesn’t know what it means exactly, but she knows it means something.

 

Because Nicole was _obviously_ worried enough about what Waverly would think of her appearance, and of what Waverly would expect to - or _like_ to - see her in. Enough to go to the trouble to buy an item of clothing she didn’t even own and didn’t normally wear. One that made her so uncomfortable, she debated whether to even wear it, but still had. Because she thought that was what Waverly wanted.

 

And someone wouldn’t go that far for an evening with someone they just considered a friend, and only wanted friendship from.

 

Would they?

 

“Look,” Chrissy says again, watching Waverly’s face carefully. “Just…talk to her, will you? If I know anythin’ about her already, it’s that if you’re feelin’ conflicted or worried about somethin’, chances are she _definitely_ is, too.”

 

“She is?” Waverly asks quietly, and she knows she has to remove the image of Nicole, high and confident in her mind’s eye, because she knows Nicole is that personified in her role as a deputy, but she’s different when she takes the badge off.

 

She’s softer. Gentler. More cautious.

 

With Waverly, she is anyway.

 

“I’d imagine so,” Chrissy answers before patting Oakley one last time, standing as Waverly collects the pup and echoes the movement. “Just talk to her, okay?”

 

“I will,” Waverly replies, and she’s trying to ground herself in this conversation, but her mind is already with Nicole, mapping out their next conversation, trying to articulate everything she wants to say, because there’s _so much_ she wants to say.

 

 _I like you just the way you are, please don’t ever think differently,_ and _I’m sorry if I said anything to make you think so_ and _I like you, do you like me?_

 

“You really are a beautiful thing, aren’t you?” Chrissy says soothingly to Oakley, sitting placid in Waverly’s arms with her head against Waverly’s heart. “Talk some sense into your Mama, would you? Both of them.”

 

“Thanks, Chrissy,” Waverly returns, hugging Oakley a little closer to her chest, eternally thankful in the moment for the warm comforting weight of her little heartbeat. “For everything, truly.”

 

“You don’t need to thank me, Wave,” Chrissy says before she smiles broadly, like she _knows_ something. “Just _talk_ to her, okay?”

 

“I will,” Waverly sighs. “I will, Chrissy, thank you. You know, you’re pretty good at this whole _advice_ thing. Perhaps you ‘ought to think about settin’ up a shop in town, huh? I bet there’s a _ton_ of people who’d pay good money to come and tell you their woes.”

 

“Come on, Wave. No one wants to talk to silly old me,” Chrissy says dismissively, blushing and frowning at what she obviously thinks to be Waverly playfully joking.

 

“You’re not silly, Chrissy,” Waverly replies seriously, her voice warm, but firm, important to her in this moment that Chrissy realises how much she means to Waverly, and how valuable she is, not just to Waverly, but to the town in general. “You’re one of the smartest people I know. Now, I know this town doesn’t have a great standard to measure yourself by, but I know you’re so far beyond anyone else here, that’s gotta count for somethin’”

 

“You’re just sayin’ that because I’ve cheered you up, some,” Chrissy says, still intent on shrugging off Waverly’s compliment, but Waverly isn’t having an inch of it.

 

“Now, you listen to me, Chrissy Nedley,” Waverly replies seriously, rocking Oakley in her arms. “You’re a smart girl, you hear me? And worth more’n most of this town put together. I’m sure I can find at least a dozen people that would say as much, you hear me? In fact, I bet Deputy Haught would affirm as much, even in the few days she’s known you.”

 

“I think she already has,” Chrissy returns, frowning and smiling at the same time. “Yesterday, when we were talkin’ about somethin’ else, she said I’d be good if I ever wanted to take up law seriously. That I’d be a help, not a hindrance. Didn’t make fun of me or anythin’. No one but Daddy’s ever been that supportive of somethin’ the rest of the town thinks I’ve no place doin’. Oh, other than yourself, of course.”

 

“She did?” Waverly asks, blinking as she takes in this new piece of information, this new morsel that reveals more of Nicole’s character than Waverly thinks Nicole would ever assume anyone would take from it.

 

Not only that she’ll happily support something like Chrissy’s interest in law, regardless of whether their society thinks she _should_ do it or not, but that she’ll take care and kindness to affirm Chrissy’s worth in that situation, as well. That, regardless of others’ opinions, she thinks Chrissy would add value; that she made Chrissy feel like it wasn’t a stupid or aimless idea.

 

“I mean, she’s right. Of course she is,” Waverly adds, busy with her own thoughts while still trying to carry the conversation with Chrissy. “But…”

 

“She’s a good’n, Waverly Earp,” Chrissy says, smiling, dragging Waverly back inside. “Don’t you let that pass you by because the two of you can’t get on the same damn page. You talk to her, you hear me?”

  


-

  


Waverly walks Chrissy to the front door after that, promising to tell her everything she can after she and Nicole talk.

 

She feels a little less wound in knots about everything now, only slightly, but it’s enough that she can, for the most part anyway, try to focus on her day. Several other customers come and go, taking Waverly well into the afternoon, when she receives a visitor she’s not at all expecting.

 

“Mattie,” Waverly says brightly when the woman walks through the door of the shop, looking as though she feels completely out of place being in town, not dissimilar to how Wynonna herself looks when she does venture in for one thing or another.

 

“Waverly Earp,” Mattie says, plucking her hat off the top of her head to give Waverly a nod of greeting.

 

She’s never quite known how to _take_ Mattie, or her frosty presentation, constantly unsure whether the woman hates her or thinks well of her - the same way she imagines half the town feels about Wynonna, too - so she settles for adopting the same manner she uses when speaking with Wynonna. A sunny dash of optimism.

 

“What good fortune brings you to my door?” Waverly asks genially. “Can I fetch you anything to drink?”

 

“If it wouldn’t put you out,” Mattie answers, surprised, Waverly thinks, at the offer. “Anythin’ cold’ll do, it’s so darn hot outside now that the wind’s disappeared.”

 

Waverly sets about making Mattie a drink, similar to the one she made for Nicole a few days ago. Similar, as well, to what she would have made for Nicole this morning if she hadn’t left so quickly.

 

She slides the drink across to Mattie when she’s finished, smiling when she sighs as the cold liquid hits her parched body. “Good lord, that’s damn good.”

 

“Thank you,” Waverly says happily in reply, adding to her comment without even thinking before catching herself. “Nicole liked it, too. Deputy Haught, I mean…”

 

“Calm your racin’ heart, girl,” Mattie says, smiling wryly at Waverly’s flushed complexion and mild panic at having potentially revealed something to someone maybe already suspicious. “It’s alright. Your secret’s safe with me.”

 

“Secret?” Waverly asks, intending to play coy on an attempt to throw Mattie off, but the other woman just levels her with a look that says _don’t even bother_. “Sorry, Mattie, I…”

 

“It’s alright,” Mattie says with a softening expression. “Don’t fret your pretty little head, alright?”

 

“Thank you,” Waverly replies sincerely, sighing in relief that she hasn’t just made a potentially huge mistake. “I appreciate it. I’m sorry for bein’ so jumpy. I’m… I’m learning, I think. Now, was there anything I could help you with, or…?”

 

“I had to come and fetch a few things from the store, and I thought while I was in town, I might as well come and bid how-do to your new companion,” Mattie says, and Waverly can tell she’s going for vaguely nonchalant, just like Wynonna does, but there’s an edge of softness that gives her away. “But, I mean, if you’re…”

 

“She’s right here,” Waverly says warmly, gesturing to her side, just as she had done with Nicole this morning. “You want to say hello?”

 

Oakley must sense the two of them talking about her, because she raises her head at Waverly’s mention, her tail wagging enthusiastically when she catches sight of who else is there.

 

“How do you do, little one?” Mattie says with a softness that Waverly doesn’t think she’s ever heard come from the other woman before. “Did you behave yourself last night?”

 

“She was perfect,” Waverly replies happily, watching Mattie run her hand down the pup’s back, scratching in a way that makes Oakley’s tail wag harder. “Weren’t you, girl?”

 

“Have you named her, yet?” Mattie asks, looking up to Waverly briefly.

 

“Oakley,” Waverly returns a little shyly, before Mattie nods in agreement.

 

“Like Annie,” Mattie nods, smiling as she does so. “I think that’s an excellent name. Now look, I brought a couple of things into town for the both of you. You and the pup, that is.”

 

She holds a leather length that Waverly identifies as a collar and a longer piece that Waverly deduces must be some sort of tether or lead, as well as a package containing what Waverly assumes must be food of some description for Oakley.

 

“Now, the food’s just a few things to keep her fed for the next few days so you don’t have to worry about it. And to help give you an idea of what type’a thing she _should_ be eating, for when you start makin’ it or buyin’ it yourself,” Mattie says, shifting onto her knees from her crouch before she hands Waverly the leash and collar. “And the lead and collar, you don’t have to use ‘em, and she might hate the collar so much she won’t let you, but I thought it might be helpful, you havin’ her in town and all.”

 

“Thank you,” Waverly says as she takes the items from Mattie, her voice wavering as the gesture renders her a little speechless. “Mattie, that’s… that’s awful thoughtful of you.”

 

“It’s nothin’,” Mattie says dismissively, swatting Waverly’s gratitude away casually. “Just somethin’ I had lying ‘round. Besides, we don’t want you gettin’ into somethin’ you’re not meant to while your Mama’s not lookin’, do we? Nor no one pinching you, neither.”

 

“I appreciate it, nonetheless,” Waverly says gratefully, unwinding the leash and taking the little leather collar to set around the pup’s neck. “What do you make of this then, huh, girl? I think it looks _mighty_ fine.”

 

Oakley twists her head around, but she doesn’t make too much of a fuss at the foreign object around her neck, which Mattie takes note of. “They’ll always accept a collar more easily if it’s someone they trust offerin’ it.”

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever had to collar a dog before,” Waverly says, frowning. “They’ve always just come and gone on the homestead as they pleased. I’ve never had one in town, though, and I think you’re right about the leash. I’d hate to take her for a walk with all the unfamiliar smells and have her bolt and hurt herself.”

 

“It’ll show she has an owner, too,” Mattie adds thoughtfully. “Just in case someone’s of a mind to take her, thinkin’ she’s a stray.”

 

“You’re not a stray though, are you?” Waverly says, her voice heavy with fondness as she scratches behind Oakley’s ear. “You’ve got a nice new home.”

 

“I think she’ll be happy here with you,” Mattie offers before she stands. “Wouldn’t be the worst thing for that sister of yours to get one, neither. She’s a placid thing now, but she’ll let you know if there’s anything she doesn’t like in her surroundin’s.”

 

“She will?” Waverly asks curiously. “Because I was startin’ to think she was a bit of a mute. She’s hardly made a noise since Nicole brought her ‘round last night.”

 

“Don’t worry,” Mattie says with a smirk. “You’ll know the second she thinks somethin’ ain’t right. She gave me a hell of a fright last night before the Deputy called back to pick her up.”

 

“You did, huh?” Waverly coos to the pup at their feet before dropping to press a quick kiss to Oakley’s forehead. “Well that’s good to know. I’ll look forward to you givin’ me a hell of a fright when you see somethin’ you don’t like.”

 

“She’ll make a nice sentry for you when she’s a little older,” Mattie says to Waverly when she straightens up from her crouch. “No one’ll dare come anywhere near you with any kind of trouble.”

 

“We certainly don’t need any more of that,” Waverly asks Oakley rhetorically, “do we, girl?”

 

“Look, I’d better be gettin’ on,” Mattie says after she finishes watching Waverly make moon-eyes at the pup. “I just wanted to drop you by those things. Thank you kindly for the drink.”

 

“It’s my pleasure,” Waverly returns, smiling widely. “And Mattie, thank you. For everythin’. I can’t tell you how much t means…”

 

“Don’t go gettin’ all sentimental on me,” Mattie warns, shaking her head. “I told your girl last night, I can’t have people thinkin’ I’ve turned into some soft old woman out there by myself.”

 

She doesn’t miss the way Mattie says _your girl_ like she knows something, too, and it takes all of her self-control not to let her smile crack and give away her delight at hearing Mattie say that so casually.

 

“Your secret’s safe with me,” Waverly teases playfully before Mattie rolls her eyes. “And look, don’t be a stranger if you want to come and see her, alright? I’m sure she’d love the visit anytime you’re callin’ by.”

 

“I appreciate that,” Mattie says, almost surprised again at Waverly’s small gesture of kindness. “Like I said to Nicole, it’ll be good to make sure she’s growin’ alright, and…”

 

“Anytime,” Waverly repeats again. “You don’t need an excuse, alright? It’ll be good for her to see a face she likes.”

 

Mattie smiles at Waverly’s astuteness, before dropping her hat back onto her head, nodding in farewell. “Take care, Miss Earp. And listen if that dog tells you she doesn’t like somethin’, alright?”

 

“Will do, Mattie,” Waverly says with smile at the other woman’s concern. “See you soon, alright?”

 

Mattie gives her one last look, sending one to Oakley, as well, before she nods and takes her leave. Waverly has maybe another half an hour to her own devices before her last customer of the day comes walking in.

 

Oakley’s slow, rumbling growl makes her turn quickly, spinning from where she’s trying to clean one of the shelves, on her tiptoes on a stool, the last speck of dust she can see _just_ out of her reach.

 

“You know, I _could_ help you with that,” Champ’s cocky voice calls from the door of the shop. “If you asked nicely enough and gave me a kiss on the cheek.”

 

“No, thank you, Champ,” Waverly replies firmly, dropping down from her tiptoes, her feet firmly flat on the step of the short stool, sighing heavily at the sight of him. “I can do it myself, just fine.”

 

“You sure about that?” he asks, taking another step before Oakley’s growling grows louder, and he finally looks down, paying her a moment’s attention. “What in the _hell_ is that thing?”

 

“My new guard dog,” Waverly says evenly, her blood chilling as Oakley’s growling and Mattie’s warning both swim icly through her veins. “You don’t like her? I’ve been told she’s a _great_ judge of character.”

 

“Yeah, well, she must be broken or somethin’,” Champ says dismissively, not bothering to hunch down and try to introduce himself to the pup like everyone else had, ignoring her instead to walk closer to Waverly.

 

She’s grateful for the countertop between them as she makes her way off the stool, preparing to try and get him out of the shop as quickly as she can, frowning when he leans over the counter trying to get as close to Waverly as he’s able.

 

“I think she’s workin’ just fine,” Waverly says, sighing in exasperation, and she’s not normally as short with Champ as she’s being right now, but honestly, she’s fed up.

 

She’s sick of him not taking no for an answer, and she’s sick of the way he looks at Nicole like he’s planning something terrible in his head, and to her like he’s planning something even _worse_.

 

She’s sick of batting off his advances and she’s sick of his horrible smug face, and she’s sick of the fact that he feels entitled to her attention.

 

She’s _sick_ of it.

 

“That’s no way to talk to a man, Waverly Earp,” Champ says, his voice a little harder, annoyed at her dismissal. “I’m just trying to offer you help, and that’s how you speak to me? I think you’ve been spendin’ too much time with that damn Deputy.”

 

“It’s none of your business who I spend my time with or how I choose to speak to you, Champ,” Waverly answers evenly, trying to keep her calm, bending down to pat the still growling Oakley in the hopes that it might soothe the both of them.

 

“You're damn right it is,” Champ says angrily, and it’s the first time Waverly’s seen a flash of something different in his eyes. Something she’s _scared_ of.

 

Oakley must sense her fear, too, because she barks, the first sound she’s made of the sort around Waverly, and she’s impressed by how loud it is given her small size.

 

“That beast of yours better keep its trap shut,” Champ warms dangerously, glaring at Oakley when Waverly stands to Champ’s eye level again. “Or else.”

 

“She’s just fine as she is,” Waverly says carefully, her eyes glancing to look out the window, trying to gauge whether there’s anyone close enough nearby to come and interrupt them. “I think _you_ need to leave, Champ.”

 

She’s worried how quickly this conversation has escalated, how much quicker to anger than normal Champ is, so she takes a step backwards to put more distance between them, uncomfortable even with the wide countertop between them.

 

“I’m not goin’ anywhere,” he replies with a clenched jaw. “I came here to have a conversation with you, and you’ll damn well give me what I came for.”

 

“I don’t want to talk, Champ. I want you to _leave_ ,” Waverly returns, trying to hold her ground as much as she can, refusing to let him see how scared she is. How scared he’s _making_ her.

 

“And I want you to come on another date with me,” Champ says testily. “Give me what I want, and I’ll leave.”

 

“No,” Waverly refuses, balling her fists at her sides, hoping beyond hope that, for whatever reason, Nicole just appears in a puff of wind between the two of them in the next few seconds.

 

“You know, I _knew_ she was bad news,” Champ seethes, and Waverly can feel how angry he is, knowing exactly who he’s talking about without him having to mention a syllable of her name. “I knew she’d poison you against me. You know that’s what she’s doin’, right? She’s poisoning you. She’s making you see and feel things that aren’t right. They’re a _sin_ , Waverly. You’re supposed to be with _me_ . In _my_ house, not in this ridiculous shop. Under _my_ roof, in _my_ bed.”

 

“Leave, Champ,” Waverly says again, and her voice is harder now, no trace of civility left in her tone.

 

“You know, some men don’t ask first?” Champ says coldly, and Waverly’s blood runs like ice at the shift and the calmness there now, because it’s worse than the anger. It’s cool and calculated, and it makes her _scared_.

 

He leans further forward, almost fully over the counter top now, and just before he spits out his next words he reaches out roughly, trying to catch Waverly by the arm and presumably hold her in place.

 

She tries to move out of the way, but she’s limited by how far she can move back, and how narrow her side of the aisle is. Her back hits the shelves roughly, with the force of trying to evade his reach knocking bottles together, but it’s not far enough, and his hand closes around her forearm hard enough to make her squeak involuntarily.

 

“They just _take_ what they want,” Champ breathes harshly, his hand clamping down hard over her narrow wrist. His eyes move over her in a way that makes her skin crawl, and when she tries to pull back, his grip only tightens. “I wanted to give you the _option_ , Waverly. I tried to be a gentleman, but I guess I’ll just have to show you you’re wrong. I’ll have to show you what you’re _supposed_ to do.”

 

“Let go, Champ,” Waverly says slowly, and she’s trying to keep her voice calm, but she knows there was panic in between the syllables this time, because his eyes light up like he enjoyed hearing them.

 

“You might not like it to begin with, but you _will_ ,” Champ says, and Waverly’s properly scared now, so much so that she doesn’t even hear Oakley’s growling getting louder and louder. “Like I said before, you just need a man’s touch. You need to tell everyone you’re done with her. That whatever disgusting thing it was you were doin’, it’s done. That you’re with me now.”

 

“I won’t,” Waverly grits steadfastly, still trying to yank her arm free, but his hold is like a vice.

 

“You will,” he insists, tugging her closer to him, and it almost looks like he’s in some sort of trance now, like everything she’s saying is only bouncing off his broad shoulders, not settling. “I’ll make _sure_ you do. I just need to work whatever she’s done and planted in your head out, and I know _exactly_ how to-”

 

“Champ, let _go_ ,” Waverly says louder, raising her voice for the first time, and that’s enough for Oakley to act.

 

The pup gets up off her bed and starts barking, _loud_ , surprisingly so for such a small animal, growling viciously between barks, her hackles raised and her teeth bared.

 

She begins to bark more insistently, louder and louder still, before finally the noise starts to enter Champ’s distracted mind and he throws an angry glare at her.

 

“Shut her up,” Champ growls, glaring at the pup advancing towards him. “Someone’ll hear. Shut her up Waverly, or I will.”

 

“Let go, Champ,” Waverly repeats coldly, ignoring his other request, silently urging Oakley to bark louder and louder still. He still doesn’t look as though he’s any closer to actually releasing his grip, though, so Waverly raises her arm instead of pulling, before knocking it as hard as she can down against the wooden countertop.

 

It’s _just_ enough to get his attention. Well, either that, or Oakley’s barking begins to worry him more, and he releases her arm slowly, his grasp unfolding, leaving a purplish bloom where his fingers had been.

 

“Leave, Champ,” Waverly says, taking a step to the side, picking up her small paring knife off the back ledge discreetly, the warm wood a welcome weight in her hand in addition to Oakley’s insistent barking. “Now.”

 

“She’s sick, Waverly,” Champ spits again, finally taking a step back as he throws a glance to the furious pup. “I’m gonna make sure this whole damn town knows it. And that she’s got you turned against me, too.”

 

“The only one with a problem is you, Champ,” Waverly says, her voice shaky as the adrenaline in her blood starts to plummet. “For seemingly losing your comprehension of the word no. Now leave, before I fetch someone to find me a deputy.”

 

“I can take her,” Champ sneers, broadening his shoulders in an attempt to make his frame seem bigger than normal. “Give me a challenge.”

 

“Leave, Champ,” Waverly repeats one final time, not bothering to justify his jab with a response. “I won’t ask you again.”

 

“You’ll come around,” Champ says self-assuredly, ignoring Waverly’s warning, but turning to leave nonetheless. “I’ll make you see.”

 

He throws one last dirty look to Oakley, who’s barking has reduced to a low growl as she stalks towards him, following him out the door, as if making sure he’s really gone and away from her Waverly.

 

He steps onto the street and stomps away - Waverly can hear the dirt crunching under his heavy footfalls - before the air leaves her lungs in a rush and everything overwhelms her and she slides to the floor with her back to the countertop.

 

Her breathing is erratic, and her hands are shaking, and the bruise from Champ’s grip is bold enough already, the purple hinting at just how much more it’s going to grow before it reaches full bloom, and the panic is thick in her hands, but he’s gone.

 

She’s okay. He’s gone.

 

Oakley returns from the door, promptly dropping herself in Waverly’s lap, not to sleep like she had been earlier, but awake and alert and offering Waverly comfort instead.

 

She looks up to Waverly with her big wide eyes and soft russet fur, and she licks the underside of Waverly’s chin, as if saying _it’s okay now, you’re okay now,_ before turning so she can watch the door from her position in Waverly’s lap.

 

“Good girl,” Waverly offers with a tremble in her voice as she runs her hands up and down the pup’s back in an attempt to calm herself. “You did _real_ good. Nicole and Mattie are gonna be so proud.”

 

Oakley looks up at Waverly over her little shoulder again before turning in Waverly’s lap, obviously trying to distract her.

 

Waverly closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths before trying to stand. Her legs are shaky, but it’s almost dusk outside now, and as much as she wants to lock all the doors and curl up in bed, or run to find Nicole and curl up in her arms _instead_ , there are a few things she has to do before night sets in.

 

She has a few plants in a barrel of dye out the back, setting the colour in them in a heavier tone for her to use in a soap, well away from Oakley’s curious little nose, that she needs to extract before the dye spoils them, so she calls Oakley at her heels as she takes a few slow steps towards the back door.

 

It takes a few tries to get the darn door open, as unsteady as she is on her feet, but eventually she manages to push hard enough, hearing the soft click as it releases, pulling it back and walking through.

 

Oakley pushes before her, unusual for the normally placid pup, and Waverly’s just about to call her back, nervous that she might bolt, when she realises that the animal is doing a quick perimeter check before she allows Waverly out. She sniffs the air, finding nothing untoward, before looking at Waverly as if to say _the coast is clear,_ and Waverly sets about her work quickly while Oakley peers around the small area.

 

It’s not what Champ was saying that’s upset her so much, because honestly, she’s been steeling herself for _that_ sort of attitude since the day she told Wynonna where she thought her inclinations might lie. It’s the quickness with which he went straight to roughness and physicality that has so shaken.

 

Because she’s always known he was stubborn and righteous and pig-headed, but she never thought he would resort to violence to get what he wanted. She’s under no illusion as to the fact that he won’t lean on that if he needs to in order to get what he wants now, however.

 

He has toed the fine line that crosses into behaviour she would identify as inappropriate before, but this is the first time he’s actually _crossed_ it. This is the first time he’d left that line so far in the distance, Waverly knew he couldn’t even _see_ it anymore.

 

And honestly, it terrifies her.

 

It terrifies her, because she knows she has absolutely no hope of overpowering him if it came down to it. She doesn’t even know if she would have been able to handle the knife in an effective enough way to defend herself, or whether it would have been as simple as picking grass to pluck it out of her hand.

 

And it’s not something she’s ever worried about before, because he’s never actually touched her. He’s never shown any inclination of taking something she isn’t prepared to give him, until now. The ease with which he was able to hold her still, and the strength of his grip, and the resultant bruise growing darker on her forearm are what makes her hands tremble now.

 

Because it had been so easy for him. _Too_ easy.

 

She knows that Nicole would protect her without a moment's hesitation, Gus and Curtis and Wynonna and Doc, too, but they can’t be around all the time. They weren’t here now. And if Oakley hadn’t been here, she doubts she would have been able to break him out of that terrifying, unreasonable trance by herself. He could very well have dragged her to the end of the shop and up the stairs without anyone even seeing them go, and…

 

It makes her bones cold, the thought, and she tries to clear her head of it, but it won’t leave, the ache at her forearm keeping the image of him pulling her towards him fresh in her mind, and, slightly distracted as she is, she spills a large measure of dye over her apron and shirt as she pulls the flowers from the barrel.

 

She misses her skirt for the most part, at least, but her top and apron are thoroughly ruined. “Damn it,” Waverly curses, holding her now wet shirt as far away from her body as she can without getting any more dye on her hands than she already has. “Damn it, damn it, damn it.”

 

Oakley walks to her at once, stopping at her feet, whining in sympathy before Waverly looks down at her with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, girl, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

 

She crouches down, lowering her face to the pup’s to demonstrate that she’s alright, lest she get more agitated at Waverly’s distress. Oakley licks her nose and Waverly sighs heavily, trying to calm herself down before she tries to remedy her current situation.

 

“What are we gonna do, huh, girl?” Waverly says, biting her lip in an attempt to stop the swelling and thickening of her throat. “I’ve made a right mess of this, haven’t I?”

 

She’s not sure if she’s referring to her interaction with Champ, her misunderstanding with Nicole, or the mess she’s made of her clothes, although she thinks she’s probably more than suitable for them all.

 

It’s immensely tempting to just give up and drop to the dusty ground and have a very unconstructive cry until she doesn’t have any tears left, but honestly, she’s not sure she’ll have the strength to pick herself up again unless someone comes to find her.

 

And the only person that she wants to see is also the person she doesn’t really want to demonstrate she’s capable of being _that_ pathetic to this early on in their relationship. If that’s even what this is.

 

If she hasn’t made a terrible mistake by not showing Nicole that she wants this. God, she’s made _such_ a mess of things.

 

She doesn’t lament not having a mother often, because she hasn’t been short of other strong female role models in her life, but this is one of those times. She wishes she could fall into the arms of the mother she barely remembers, and cry and cry and _cry_ . She needs to be allowed to be completely weak for ten whole seconds while someone, not even her mother, but _anyone_ she trusts enough to be completely vulnerable with, strokes her hair and tells her everything is going to be okay.

 

She thinks, in time, that Nicole could be this person. That she, as a lover, could fill that gap. If Waverly hasn’t made a mess of everything.

 

As much as she wants to keel over, she can’t. She _knows_ she can’t. Because she’s strong. As a person, she’s as solid as the rocks that form the foundation of this town. She has to be. Because she can’t afford to lean on others as heavily as other people do. She has to be independent. Without her own strength driving her, she depends on that of someone else’s to get her out of bed every morning, and that simply isn’t an option.

 

She _needs_ to be strong.

 

She needs to get herself up and get cleaned up, but she can’t leave Oakley here, not so new to her environment, and she doesn’t think the attendant would take kindly to Waverly bringing her along to the baths, either.

 

Gus, she thinks suddenly. Gus will help her. She can go and see Gus.

 

She beckons Oakley back inside, locking the hidden door as they enter it before making her way up the stairs to gather a fresh set of clothes to change into. If she leaves the ruined ones with Gus when she picks Oakley back up, Gus might even be able to salvage them.

 

“We can do this, can’t we girl?” Waverly asks Oakley, watching Waverly from prime position on the edge of the bed while Waverly arranges her things and bites back her tears. “We can do this?”

 

Oakley barks once, but it’s a different bark than before with Champ, more agreeable. Gentler. _She’s agreeing with me,_ Waverly thinks with a smile.

 

She needs to be strong. She knows she does, but she knows she can’t run her heart like that every hour of every day, too. She knows that sometimes, it’s okay to rest her hand on someone else’s shoulder while she catches her breath.

 

“If I don’t fall to pieces the second I stop to draw one in,” Waverly says out loud to herself when her gaze falls to the starburst over her pulse, blooming deeper still.

  


-


	8. eight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey team,
> 
> So you're going to get a couple of updates over the next few days because I'm actually going on a little holiday overseas for a couple of weeks on Tuesday my time and I'm not able to take my computer with me, so I won't be able to update for a couple of weeks. Yes, I know this sucks but it's very exciting to get a bit of a break from real-life for a bit.
> 
> I'm woefully behind on replying to all your comments but I'll get there soon, hello to zero spare time at the moment, it's been a bit tricky. Know that I take such pleasure in reading all the lovely ones though, and I really appreciate them, so keep 'em coming :)
> 
> P.s posting early has kind of worked well because, wow-za, that episode yesterday was something wasn't it? I think a lot of us could probably use the distraction! 
> 
> x

-

  


“What in damnation happened to you?” Gus asks quickly, stepping around the front desk the second Waverly walks through the door.

 

She holds her breath, because Oakley is on the leash Mattie had brought them, just out of sight of Gus, and she’s expecting another outburst the second her aunt sees the animal.

 

“Uh…” Waverly stammers, unsure what beast in the room to address first, before Gus marches up to her, pulling at the front of her shirt.

 

She throws a glance down at a curiously quiet Oakley, obviously unfazed by Gus, given Waverly’s own comfort around the woman.

 

“I don’t care about the dog,” Gus says, waving her hand dismissively. “Nicole told me about her yesterday. What on earth happened to you? You’re _never_ clumsy enough to ruin clothes, Waverly Earp.”

 

Waverly must look suitably on the edge of a breakdown, because Gus softens considerably, pulling Waverly gently towards the kitchen without another word.

 

Gus takes the basket that belongs to her from Waverly’s arms, the one Nicole had brought food over in last night and Waverly had brought back to return, that now contains her clothes, before leading Waverly, still holding Oakley, into the kitchen.

 

“Sit,” Gus says sternly, but kindly, motioning for Waverly to take a place at the small table off to one side of the kitchen, which she does, beckoning Oakley to sit placidly at her feet.

 

Gus begins rummaging around in one of the cupboards before moving onto the next, still empty handed, and Waverly can’t help but smile as soon as she registers what it is Gus is looking for.

 

“Top left,” Waverly says shakily, smiling through watery eyes to look at her would-be guardian. “Remember? I moved it after we had the little girls in here the other night.”

 

Gus rolls her eyes at her own memory before opening the top cupboard, swiping the bottle of amber liquid and two glasses. She pours two, handing one to Waverly before downing her own, sitting back to wait as Waverly mirrors her action.

 

“Now,” Gus says calmly, looking to Waverly with soft eyes again. “Tell me what’s wrong. What’s made you quiver like a leaf, hmm? Did somethin’ happen?”

 

Waverly nods as she nurses the glass in her hand, not trusting her voice to leave her lungs unbroken, and Gus’s frown only deepens.

 

“Was it somethin’ last night?” Gus says angrily. “Did that damn woman do somethin’ to-”

 

“No,” Waverly says quickly, cutting across Gus as fast as she can, because she doesn’t want Gus for a second to think Nicole has been anything but the true gentlewoman that she is. “No, Gus, it wasn’t Nicole at all. The thing that hap… It wasn’t Nicole. And it wasn’t last night. It was just now… it’s why I can’t stop my hands from shakin’.”

 

“Well, if it wasn’t Nicole that’s upset you, then what has?” Gus asks, reaching across the table to take something from the plate piled high with leftovers there before offering her hand out to Oakley while she holds Waverly’s gaze.

 

“Champ,” Waverly replies shakily, rubbing her hand absentmindedly over her forearm before she flinches, forgetting how tender the bruise is. “He came to see me today like he always does, only, he… he got angrier than he has before.”

 

Gus straightens up in her chair slowly before pushing both glasses aside and reaching for Waverly’s arm gently. The arm of her shirt is long so it covers the bruising well, and Gus has to edge the fabric up to get a good look, growling as she does so.

 

“I’m gonna _kill_ that boy,” Gus seethes as she looks at the ugly bruise marring Waverly’s skin. “What in the _hell_ got him this mad? I know the kid’s an idiot, but normally he’s got better control of his faculties than this?”

 

“I said something he didn’t like,” Waverly says a little slowly, continuing at Gus’s motioning, and it’s not that she doesn’t want to tell Gus the thing that made him so furious was Nicole, she doesn’t want to give Gus any reason to build a case against Nicole. If there’s anything to build a case against. “He was just talkin’ about how he thought I should be _his_ , and I told him I wasn’t, and that I wouldn’t ever be, and…”

 

“Ahhh,” Gus says understanding as she fills the gaps in Waverly’s answer. “So it’s the _Deputy_ that’s done and got him so riled.”

 

“Not only Nicole,” Waverly rushes to clarify. “He didn’t like me standin’ up for myself, and he certainly didn’t like Oakley barkin’ at him, and-”

 

“The pup was barkin’ at him?” Gus asks with interest, cutting Waverly off lightly. “She doesn’t seem like she makes a lot of noise.”

 

“She doesn’t,” Waverly returns, smiling a little as she does so. “She barely makes a peep, but from the moment he walked into the shop, she was. She started growlin’, and then when he grabbed me, she started barkin’, too. Mattie came in earlier. She told me if Oakley makes any sort of noise or doesn’t seem to like somethin’, it’s best to listen to her. I guess even she knows enough to know he’s a bad seed.”

 

“Well, aren’t you a clever young thing?” Gus says with a reluctant grin to the dog at Waverly’s feet.

 

“Very clever,” Waverly nods, her hands beginning to shake a little more again. “If she wasn’t there, I don’t think he would’ve let go. It was only the noise that seemed to bring him out of whatever state he was in.”

 

“I think Curtis needs to have a little word with that boy,” Gus says with a frown. “Before he gets it in his head to come and try that again. Maybe the Sheriff, too.”

 

“I don’t want to cause a fuss,” Waverly insists, leaning down to set Oakley on her lap as a balm to stop the tremble beneath her skin. “I just… I was _scared_ , Gus. I’ve never seen him like that before.”

 

“I can tell,” Gus growls, leaning over to tear a slightly bigger chunk for Oakley, smiling when the pup licks her hand after. “Now, I don’t want to be the one to have to ask this, but no one else is goin’ to, so I guess it’s my burden…. Perhaps you need to rethink your…. _friendship_ with the Deputy, Waverly.”

 

“What?” Waverly asks, her brow wrinkling in confusion. “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean…” Gus says before she sighs heavily, dropping her hands to her thighs with a soft thump. “I mean, I know she’s a nice girl, Waverly, and I know she’s taken a _real_ shine to you, but I’m not sure you fully appreciate the consequences of a _friendship_ like that.”

 

“I’m not sure whether you’re referring to the part where people whisper about us behind our backs, or holler at us in the street, but I can assure you, I have,” Waverly asserts, and she appreciates Gus’s worry, she does, but she needs to make it very clear to Gus that she understands _exactly_ what she’s walking into.

 

Because Waverly Earp is a thinker. She’s not reactive, or quick to respond without taking into account every consequence of her actions. She has lain awake more nights than she can find a number for thinking about her future, what that might look like, if she’ll _ever_ share her bed with anyone.

 

Honestly, she’s not surprised by Gus’s comments. She’d been expecting it, in fact, because Waverly Earp thinks about _everything_ , and never thought for a second that Gus wouldn’t feel compelled to have a conversation like this with her at some stage, be it about Nicole or another alternate love. And she’s touched by Gus’s concern, be it from a place of her own self-preservation or Waverly’s, but that still won’t stop her.

 

She exhales deeply, prompting Oakley to set her head against Waverly’s chest before she looks to Gus and speaks.

 

“I’m also not stupid, Gus. I know what this means. How it changes things,” Waverly says carefully. “I’ve thought about what it would mean if I ever found someone from the moment I realised I was different.”

 

“I know you’ve thought about it, girl,” Gus says wryly, looking to Waverly with a smile. “But have you really _thought_ about it? Because I know you’re not stupid, far from it, in fact, but I just want to make sure you know what this means, forever, because you can’t take somethin’ like this back. People’ll remember this ‘til the day you die.”

 

“People have looked sideways at me my entire life, Gus. And I know this is going to be different, I know people will be nastier about this if they find out, and I know we can’t walk down Main Street holding hands, but I’m willing to accept that,” Waverly says calmly.

 

Gus sighs again, and Waverly knows she understands that she won’t shake Waverly’s view, nor the position of her mind now that it’s been made.

 

“I just want you to be sure she’s worth it, is all,” Gus says, looking to the exposed bruise on Waverly’s forearm, and Waverly understands the implication immediately.

 

“Champ Hardy is a damn thug and shouldn’t be grabbing’ people, whether they don’t like him or not,” Waverly growls to Gus before leaning down to rub her nose on the top of Oakley’s head.

 

“It’s not just him, darlin’,” Gus says softly, reaching for Waverly’s hand. “He won’t be the first, nor the last, who thinks that way, if a pretty young thing like you takes up with a woman. I just want you to be certain that she’s worth it. Because you’ve got a good life now, more freedom than most girls do. And we won’t ever pressure you into marrying someone like Champ Hardy, but that don’t mean you need to jump into another relationship for the sake of it.”

 

“Don’t I deserve to be happy, too?” Waverly asks a little sadly, and she knows that Gus doesn’t mean she doesn’t, but she wants Gus to know it’s not about that, some arbitrary need to fill a gap because everyone else does, it’s about having someone to share her life with.

 

And she knows it’s not going to be easy, but Waverly Earp has thought this through, and Nicole Haught? She’s _worth_ it. She’s worth every bit of it.

 

If Nicole still wants her.

 

“I know that’s not what you mean,” Waverly says to clarify, looking to Gus with kind eyes. “I just… I want that, too. I know I have a good life, and I know I’m not ever alone, because I have you and Wynonna and Curtis, but it’s lonely sometimes. And that’s not why I’m so willin’ to jump at the first girl who shows an interest in me, because I’d rather have nothing than something that isn’t right. It just so happens that I think she’s kind of perfect.”

 

She knows it’s probably more than Gus wants to hear, but she needs to say it. She needs Gus to understand that she’s thought this through, long before meeting Nicole. She’s the catalyst _now,_ but she’s not the point of origin. That began a long time ago.

 

“But,” Waverly says with a shrug that she tries to pass as casual, but knows Gus sees through in an instant. “This talk might all be moot, because I don’t even know if she _likes_ me.”

 

“She likes you,” Gus laughs, reaching to scratch under Oakley’s chin. “Trust me, darlin’, the girl’s head over heels for you, alright?”

 

“You think so?” Waverly asks quietly, because if Gus thinks so, then there _must_ be something there.

 

“I know so,” Gus answers with a confidence that makes Waverly’s heart lift a little. “Now, I don’t want to hear nothin’ that’ll burn my ears, but how was your night last night?”

 

“It was perfect,” Waverly replies easily, because she’s beginning to realise that it was. With or without the kiss she’d been half-expecting.

 

“Good,” Gus says, frowning with a gruffness in her voice that Waverly recognises immediately as kind. “She might be bigger and stronger than me, but she steps a toe out of line, and I’ll march her out into the street same as any man who might be courtin’ you, alright?”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Waverly replies a little playfully, Gus’s unorthodox acceptance of Nicole, and Waverly’s decision not to abandon this path, warming in her hands.

 

“I think I’ve got some of that concoction of yours left here somewhere,” Gus says, standing as she begins to rummage through drawers and cupboards again. “You know, the one you gave me to stop the bruisin’ when I walk into somethin’ and it looks like Curtis has raised his fists? Poor man.”

 

“Next to where the whiskey was,” Waverly says quietly, pointing to the top cupboard again before Gus returns with a small bottle of healing salve Waverly had mixed for Gus to help reduce swelling and bruising when she knocked something extra hard during the surprisingly manual parts of minding an Inn.

 

Gus eases Waverly’s shirt up over her elbow before she starts to spread the balm over the ever-deepening bruise. Waverly had mixed it with a few of the scents she knows Gus loves, things Waverly associates with her, so the smell is both nostalgic and calming when she breathes it in as Gus goes about her task.

 

She hisses when Gus brushes over a particularly tender spot, not flinching away, but sucking in a sharp breath, and Gus winces herself. “I’m sorry, Waverly. He had a darn decent hold on you, didn’t he?”

 

Waverly doesn’t say anything in reply, her throat thickening, dropping her head to rub against Oakley’s head instead.

 

“Now, don’t you worry about Champ Hardy, alright?” Gus says when she finishes. “We’ll make sure he don’t bother you like that ever again if he values his hands on the end of his arms.”

 

“Thank you, Gus,” Waverly says gratefully. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

 

“You’d be just fine, Waverly,” Gus offers reassuringly, looking to Waverly a little proudly. “But you don’t have to worry about that, because you’ve got us. Now, how about you leave that shadow of yours here while you go and get cleaned up?”

 

“Would you mind?” Waverly asks, suddenly feeling a little desperate to wash the day off of herself.

 

“Of course not,” Gus says, watching Oakley with a look that softens the longer she stares at the pup. “‘Bout time me and this young lady became properly acquainted, I suppose. What did you name her?”

 

“Oakley,” Waverly replies, blushing a little at the admission. “Her name is Oakley.”

 

“It suits her,” Gus says with a wry smile when she makes the connection. “Well, Oakley, it’s mighty fine to meet you. Especially if you’re in the habit of watchin’ out for our Waverly.”

 

The pup begins to wag her tail excitedly when Gus leans in her direction, evidently having decided Gus is someone worth attention.

 

“We might just have to see if there are any scraps lyin’ around for you, if you’re lucky. We’d best get that body of yours growin’ so you can have a go at that boy yourself next time,” Gus says, looking at the pup before holding her arms out. “Might as well give her to me now, huh? So you can get goin’.”

 

Gus’s tone is gruff, but Waverly can tell it’s just an excuse, something only solidified at the way Gus’s eyes soften further when Waverly shifts Oakley carefully into the older woman’s lap.

 

“Well, aren’t you a pretty little thing?” Gus says quietly to Oakley, her hands moving over the pup gently in inspection. “And the Deputy just found her?”

 

“All alone and half-starved,” Waverly replies sadly. “Lucky she didn’t just leave her, I’d hate to think of her out there all by herself.”

 

“Lucky indeed,” Gus says, and Waverly knows she means lucky for Waverly, too. “Now, you’d best get goin’, girl. Get that body of yours in some hot water.”

 

She can feel the shot of liquor warming her belly now, and the thought of a steaming hot bath is calling to her stronger than before, almost enough to take her off her chair in compulsion.

 

“You’re sure you’ll be okay here with her?” Waverly asks Gus, smiling at the way she’s already cooing over the pup.

 

“We’ll be just fine,” Gus replies easily, looking to Waverly with a wry grin. “If I can handle you and that sister of yours as children, I can handle one puppy.”

 

“Thank you,” Waverly says gratefully, and she means for looking after Oakley, but it’s more than that, too.

 

“You’re welcome, darlin’,” Gus says, her expression warm. “Now, get, or you’ll miss the baths before she closes up.”

 

She looks at Gus one final time before she scoops the basket containing her clothes up. “I’ll see you soon?”

 

Gus nods before shooing Waverly out of the kitchen, and Waverly can’t help the grin that splits across her face when she hears Gus talking softly to Oakley as she walks towards the door leading out onto the Main Street. Dusk has almost settled across the stretch of road, and Waverly sighs at the cover it provides, because she doesn’t think she has the energy to talk to another person, not before she’s submerged her weakening body in almost too-hot water.

 

In the quiet, dim light, Waverly has a moment to reflect on the events of the day. The confrontation with Champ had been awful, frightening and painful and horrible, but honestly, she’s not overly sorry it happened. Sure, she’d rather not have a bruise to show for it, nor be as emotionally exhausted as she is now, but she can’t find it in herself to regret the epiphany it’s wrought in her own head. Because this, Champ treating her this way, it’s only made her more determined to have a true partner in her life like she thinks Nicole can be, and not a brute like him. It hasn’t scared her away, instead it’s hardened her resolve, firmed her mind that if this is the price she must pay to live her life true to who she is, then so be it.

 

And she knows it probably should have frightened her into smothering these feelings, into dampening her ever-growing desire for Nicole, but it hasn’t. It’s only fed that fire. It’s only made it burn more. Because the only thing that’s running through her head isn’t a chant of _no_ , and _scared_ and _run, Waverly, run_ . It’s _Nicole_ . _Nicole, Nicole, Nicole._

 

Waverly wants Nicole, she _wants_ her, and she’s determined now more than ever to make sure that Nicole knows how she feels, so that she might take the step Waverly desperately wants her to take. To close that gap between them, both emotionally and physically. To open her heart to Waverly, the way Waverly is willing to open her own heart in return.

 

She doesn’t see anyone directly while she makes her way across the road and down to the baths, which she’s tremendously grateful for, only having to make conversation with the attendant when she arrives at the baths. She takes one look at Waverly covered in indigo dye, glancing to the bruise on Waverly’s arm, her face softening in sympathy immediately before she quickly beckons Waverly inside. Waverly tries to hand the attendant the tariff to enter, but the woman shakes her head, pushing Waverly’s hand away gently.

 

“Your money’s no good here, Waverly,” the woman says gently. “Not tonight, alright?”

 

Waverly must look at her with a suitably pathetic and beaten face, because the woman leads her by the arm into the women’s room quietly, her hand warm and assuring at Waverly’s elbow.

 

“Are you okay gettin’ everything off?” she asks Waverly gently, obviously worried that the bruise on Waverly’s arm isn’t the only one.

 

“I should be alright,” Waverly replies kindly. “Thank you for the offer, though.”

 

“Do you need anything else?” the woman asks just before she leaves. “You’ll find your soaps and whatnot just next to the bath.”

 

“I don’t think so,” Waverly says, bending down to set her basket on the ground before she toes off her boots. “Maybe just come back in a little while to check I’m not fast asleep?”

 

“Of course,” the woman answers, touching Waverly’s arm softly before walking out to the front entrance again.

 

The women’s room is thankfully completely empty, so it’s with a relieved pleasure that Waverly begins to remove her things slowly, folding them in a pile before she lowers herself into the soothingly hot water. The sigh is audible when she slides down, her shoulders dipping beneath the water line as well, and it’s the easiest thing then to close her eyes and slip down the rest of the way, submerging her head, too.

 

It’s quiet beneath the water, and for a moment Waverly can pretend she’s in another world. One where she doesn’t have to worry about hiding her affection for Nicole, one where they can speak and hold hands openly, one where one day they might marry as a man and a woman do now.

 

Her lungs begin to creak after a moment, so she pushes up off the bottom of the bath, bringing her head above the water line, gasping a little when she does so. Opening her eyes against the water running into them, Waverly blinks a few times before she catches the silhouette of someone else preparing to disrobe beside the bath next to her.

 

She frowns a little in disappointment at the other bather before something in her mind clicks and she takes stock of the woman with her back to her. It’s dark in the room, but Waverly just catches sight of a flash of red hair as the woman pulls her shirt over her head, before…

 

“Nicole?” Waverly asks, just as the woman straightens up. “Is that you?”

 

Nicole turns immediately at the sound of Waverly’s voice, and it _is_ dark in the room, but Waverly can see the blush fall across Nicole’s cheeks regardless.

 

“Waverly?” Nicole asks through the steamy darkness, now clutching her shirt to her chest, an effort that isn’t _really_ necessary, given she’s still wearing her undergarments. “What…oh, dear…”

 

At the sight of Waverly - not that Nicole can even _see_ anything yet, given her current position on the other side of the tub next to Waverly’s own - Nicole takes a step back, as though scared to come an inch closer, lest she see something inappropriate, or something Waverly doesn’t wish her to see.

 

“Wha….” Nicole says a little dumbly, clutching harder at her shirt as she tries to look anywhere but actually _at_ Waverly. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I’d imagine the same thing as you?” Waverly says, smiling widely, and she’s carefully unmoving, making sure Nicole notices that she makes no effort to flinch away from Nicole’s gaze.

 

“What?” Nicole asks, uncharacteristically flustered, seemingly even more so by Waverly’s nonchalance.

 

“Getting clean,” Waverly says with a smile, lifting her dripping hands up out of the water as if to demonstrate.

 

“Oh,” Nicole replies, keeping her eyes trained upwards, finally settling on Waverly’s face, and it’s the first time, she realises, that she’s seen Nicole all day, since their cut-short conversation this morning. “Good?”

 

“It is good,” Waverly nods, trying to suppress the smirk threatening to cross the room and reach Nicole, and she can’t help but be a little pleased at Nicole’s behaviour, because she seems flustered, which wouldn’t be, Waverly thinks anyway, something one would feel if they _weren’t_ in some way attracted to the person seemingly causing the flustering. “It’s warm. It’s nice.”

 

“Nice,” Nicole repeats a little dreamily as her gaze holds on Waverly’s face.

 

“Nice,” Waverly affirms, nodding to Nicole who stands unmoving still, one boot on and one boot off. “It _is_ nice. You should try it.”

 

“Oh,” Nicole says when she realises what Waverly is suggesting. “You mean, get _in_ … oh, I don’t have to… I can come back later, if…”

 

“Why?” Waverly asks, her voice soft and genuinely a little confused, wrapping her fingers over the edge and pulling herself forward, her chin resting on the lipped metal edge of the bath.

 

“Because you’re…” Nicole stammers a little unintelligibly. “Because… I should give you some privacy, or…”

 

“I don’t need privacy,” Waverly says clearly, holding Nicole’s line of sight so Nicole can hopefully see the soft sincerity in her eyes. “Not from you, anyway.”

 

“You don’t?” Nicole asks, her own voice careful, as though she can hear the implication in Waverly’s voice, she just isn’t sure if Waverly means what Nicole _thinks_ she means.

 

“I don’t,” Waverly replies gently, shaking her head, and Nicole moves her gaze now that Waverly’s modesty is well hidden by her position in the water. “Not unless _you_ want privacy, in which case…”

 

“No,” Nicole says quickly, one of her hands reaching outward, and Waverly is gifted with the curve of muscle the movement reveals in the length of Nicole’s bare arm. “No, I don’t need… I mean, if you don’t mind…”

 

“I don’t mind at all…” Waverly returns with a purposefully coy note to her words, and she thinks she sees Nicole’s eyes _light_ at the potential implication. “Your company would be lovely, in fact.”

 

“If you wouldn’t mind…” Nicole says, her gaze dropping a little lustfully at the still steaming bath water, the exhaustion in the arch of her body clear. “It would be rather lovely to… it’s been a long day, is all.”

 

“Not at all,” Waverly beckons softly to Nicole’s bath. “I’m sure you’re far more deserving of the luxury than I am.”

 

She notes Nicole’s continued inaction, and realises suddenly that she likely _does_ want a little bit of privacy to strip down so she can actually get in the bath without having to worry about her _own_ modesty.

 

“I can turn, if you’d rather not…” Waverly says a little shyly, blushing as she looks at Nicole.

 

“It’s okay, I mean… I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, is all,” Nicole offers, stumbling over her words a little.

 

“I’m pretty comfortable,” Waverly says easily, and Nicole’s eyes soften again at the additional meaning to her words. “But look, I’ll cover my eyes for a second, just so we’re both okay, alright?”

 

She goes about lifting her arm to cover her eyes, the one _without_ the bruise, peeking through her fingers once playfully, catching Nicole’s eye with a cheeky wink before she closes them properly. It’s actually one of the better self-control tests Waverly has ever had to perform, because the toned preview she had seen a moment ago has made her a little restless for _more_. She wants to respect Nicole’s need for privacy though, so she keeps them tightly closed instead, waiting patiently for Nicole to give her a signal that it's fine to look again.

 

“I don’t know about that, you know,” Nicole says before she corrects herself. “About deservin’ the luxury, I mean. I know you work just as hard, Miss Earp. You won’t trick me into thinkin’ otherwise.”

 

“I don’t help people like you do,” Waverly replies a little dismissively of herself, still holding her hand tight over her eyes.

 

“You darn well do, Waverly,” Nicole growls in her defense, and Waverly’s surprised at the feeling she can hear there. “And you’ve probably helped more people than I ever will, without even takin’ a lick of credit for it.”

 

“I don’t know about that,” Waverly returns with a note of doubt in her voice. “I think we could probably argue about this for hours, though. How about you tell me how your day was instead? I must confess, I hadn’t thought I’d see you until the morning, so this is a nice surprise.”

 

“It is?” Nicole asks softly, and Waverly drops her hand without thinking to look at Nicole, hurrying to re-cover her eyes before she realises that Nicole’s almost fully in the bath anyway. She does catch the quickest, faintest glimpse of the side of Nicole’s breast though, nothing more than the swell of flesh, but it makes Waverly _shiver_.

 

“It is,” Waverly affirms easily, dropping her hand slowly, wrapping it around the edge of the tub again now that Nicole is hidden largely by the recline of her body against the back of the metal, watching Nicole’s face for her expression. “It really is. I hope your day wasn’t too awful, though. Did you find anythin’, or…?”

 

“Nothin’,” Nicole says sadly, and Waverly can hear her frustration strung out between them as Nicole raises her hands out of the water to rub them over her face. “Nothin’ again. Not a damn thing. I’m startin’ to doubt how good a deputy I actually am, to be plain.”

 

“You’re a wonderful deputy, Nicole,” Waverly says quickly, scooting as far forward as she can in the water in an attempt to soothe Nicole with her proximity. “A _wonderful_ deputy. I know you are.”

 

“Am I, though?” Nicole replies, defeated, and it takes all of Waverly’s self-control not to raise herself out of the water and take Nicole’s hands in her own. “Because I haven’t found more than a mark on a wall so far by way of a clue as to where the heck these women have gone.”

 

She sighs heavily, leaning further back in the water before looking to Waverly with heavily apologetic eyes.

 

“I’m sorry, Waverly,” Nicole says sincerely. “I don’t mean to be so down, I’m just… I hate that I can’t do anything more. I hate that I can’t help.”

 

“You _are_ helping,” Waverly offers softly, looking to Nicole with quiet eyes. “You _are_ Nicole. You’re looking, and you’re trying. You’re _helping_ , I know you are.”

 

“Any chance you can make me somethin’ with that self-assurance in it when I call by for tea?” Nicole asks, smiling weakly, but strengthening when Waverly returns the expression.

 

“Absolutely,” Waverly replies with a smooth confidence she doesn’t quite fully feel, winking a little playfully. “And if I couldn’t make _that_ , then I could definitely make something that might cheer you up, at least?”

 

“I’d like that,” Nicole breathes quietly, her tone soft and hopeful, closing her eyes before cupping a handful of water to press against her face again. “I’d really like that.”

 

“As would I,” Waverly returns with an equal softness, tilting her head to watch the mesmerising rhythm of Nicole running her palms over her arms with a bar of Waverly’s soap in them before sliding up, across the line or shoulder to the nape of her neck.

 

“Listen to me talkin’ about myself,” Nicole says, admonishing herself, dropping her hands into the water with a soft _splash_. “I’m sorry, Waverly. Will you tell me about your day?”

 

“I like hearing about you, though,” Waverly offers, dropping her chin on top of her hands to look at Nicole with what she’s hoping is a slightly adorable expression. Nicole smiles warmly at her in the next second in response, and Waverly can’t help but grin at her small success. “Besides, my day was a little awful, actually. Well, part of it was.”

 

“I hope Oakley wasn’t the bother?” Nicole asks quickly, obviously worried she had left Waverly with a little problem, but it’s easy for Waverly to shake her head in reply.

 

“No,” Waverly replies, her grin widening as she thinks of Gus’s completely love-struck face. “No, she’s been the highlight actually. Well, apart from this, of course.”

 

She watches Nicole’s expression go from a slightly dazed one to something slightly more focused as she concentrates on Waverly’s face instead of watching it dreamily. Waverly can feel her blood grow steadily warmer, and she tries consciously to slow her pulse as her heart thumps a little louder, and louder still in her chest, because she knows now really isn’t the time or the place to tell Nicole how she feels, but the attendant isn’t here for the moment, they’re blissfully alone, and she’s not sure when she’ll next have the chance, reluctant to let another opportunity pass by, lest Nicole lose hope altogether.

 

And she knows she needs to tell Nicole about Champ, too. She _wants_ to, but she doesn’t want to ruin this perfectly lovely chance encounter with _that_ . She doesn’t _want_ to, but then she raises her arm to push a few stray strands of her ponytail back into her up-do, and she drops herself into the conversation regardless.

 

“Waverly, what is that…” Nicole asks, peering through the darkness before settling on the bruise, even angrier for the blush the hot water and Nicole has brought to her skin. “Is that a _bruise_?”

 

“Oh,” Waverly replies, her face falling instantly. “Um…”

 

“What happened?” Nicole asks with concern heavy in her eyes, almost raising herself up and out of the water to take a closer look. “Waverly, are you okay? What on earth…?”

 

“Ah, that’s the awful part, actually…” Waverly says slowly, reluctantly, because she can feel the possibility of telling Nicole how she feels slipping rapidly away with every second that passes. “And what I was goin’ to tell you about later on. Champ kind of…”

 

“Champ?” Nicole asks quickly, and Waverly can hear the fury in her voice as quick as a lightning strike. “Champ did that? Jesus Christ, Waverly, I’m gonna kill him. Are you okay? Did he hurt you anywhere…”

 

Nicole stops, gathering her thoughts before she looks back to Waverly with a much softer, much calmer expression than before, and when she does speak, her voice is like that of someone trying not to scare a spooked dog.

 

“Waverly, did he hurt you anywhere else?” Nicole asks gently, and Waverly knows if Nicole could touch her softly, to reassure her, she would, if Waverly would admit the touch.

 

“No, no, he… Oakley was makin’ too much noise,” Waverly replies, hoping to pour as much reassurance into her voice as possible, even though the thought of the incident is making her hands shake a little again.

 

“But you think he would have… You think he would have if Oakley wasn’t…?” Nicole asks, and Waverly can see the shiver that passes through her in spite of the warm water at the thought.

 

“I don’t know,” Waverly returns with some trepidation, not wanting to worry Nicole any more than Waverly knows she will be. “I just… I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like that before.”

 

“What happened?” Nicole asks, trying with some visible effort to keep her voice calm, Waverly thinks, for her sake. “What set him off?”

 

Waverly opens her mouth to explain, or to try and put Nicole a little more at ease, but before Waverly has a chance to say anything, the attendant breezes back into the room.

 

Waverly’s explanation dies in her lungs, biting her lip in frustration, because they can speak civilly here, as casual acquaintances, but anything more than that would be dangerous. Waverly knows it would be. The woman is on the other side of the room, but Waverly thinks she could probably hear everything they said to one another if she wanted to, as quiet as the room is without other bathers, so she lowers her voice as much as she can, her eyes trying to tell Nicole that _she’s okay, really, she’s okay_ , because Nicole looks set to cry or yell at the idea that someone has _dared_ harm her.  And she’s beyond touched, beyond, at the thought that Nicole might care that much, but honestly, as much as she thinks Nicole wants to make sure she’s okay, Waverly wants to make sure _Nicole_ is, too.

 

“I promise I’m alright, I just… will you come to the shop later?” Waverly whispers, her voice pleading a little. “There are… there are other things I need to say, too.”

 

“Of course,” Nicole says at once, nodding, but Waverly notices her face fall.

 

Her own stomach drops the next second when she realises what Nicole thinks she could be intending to say, that Waverly wants to break things off, once and for all, and Waverly wants so desperately to set her mind at ease at _once_ , but before she can so much as breathe, the attendant moves next to them.

 

“Everythin’ alright, ladies?” the woman asks kindly, her eyes falling to Waverly’s forearm. “You doin’ okay there, Miss Earp?”

 

“Just fine, thank you,” Waverly replies, nodding to the attendant.

 

“There anythin’ else I can get either of you?” she asks, looking between Nicole and Waverly, thankfully, Waverly thinks anyway, completely oblivious to whatever tension is or isn’t swirling around the two of them like a tornado.

 

“I think we’re fine,” Waverly says, and it’s almost a question really, as she looks to Nicole for clarification. “Unless…?”

 

“Oh, no,” Nicole adds quickly, and Waverly notes how Nicole watches her the whole time, her concerned gaze trying inconspicuously to move across Waverly body in search of any other evidence of hard or ill-treatment. “No, I’m alright, thank you kindly. Unless there’s anythin’ else Miss Earp requires?”

 

Waverly smiles softly to Nicole at her thoughtfulness, before shaking her head to the attendant. “No, I’m fine, thank you both.”

 

“Just holler if you do, alright?” the woman asks kindly, to which Waverly and Nicole both nod, before she leaves them to it again.

 

Waverly raises her hands out of the water when the attendant walks away, registering the wrinkling of her fingertips and how long she’s likely been here for.

 

“I should probably head back and fetch Oakley from Gus before she falls so in love with her that I don’t get her back,” Waverly says softly, watching the way Nicole’s eyes don’t stop their gentle check of the parts of Waverly she can see.

 

And it’s not what she _wants_ to say, because that would consist of a hurried explanation containing everything they can’t say in front of the attendant, but the sooner they’re both out, the sooner they can meet at the shop and finally, _finally_ , talk.

 

“I imagine she’ll be missin’ you,” Nicole says with an ever so slightly strained smile.

 

“Me?” Waverly replies, smiling lightly in a way that seems to make them both relax a little. “I doubt it, not with the treats Gus’ll be feedin’ her. She’ll hardly have even realised I’ve been gone, I’m sure.”

 

“I doubt that. You’re a hard presence to not notice missin’, Waverly,” Nicole says so quietly that Waverly has to strain her ears to hear it.

 

“I’m sure she’d like to see you later, too,” Waverly whispers quietly, risking the attendant hearing for the sake of trying to ease Nicole’s mind in whatever way she can.

 

“If you want me to, of course I’ll be there,” Nicole answers with an almost tangible sense of commitment, of possible devotion irrespective of how it might harm Nicole, and Waverly gets her first taste of the idea that Nicole would do anything for her, if only she asked.

 

Waverly nods, looking to Nicole with a little nervous blush before her heart sinks when she realises she’s going to have to do exactly the same thing as Nicole had, in order to get _out_ of the bath now, rather than _in_. And she doesn’t want to make Nicole feel embarrassed or awkward in any amount, but she can’t stay in here forever, and she’s not really going to be able to cover herself at all, either.

 

Nicole must catch sight of the internal conflict written on her face, her own face flushing deeper than Waverly’s when she registers what it is that’s making Waverly a little unsettled.

 

“Oh,” Nicole says, pink crawling slowly up her neck as her eyes move around the room, looking anywhere but at Waverly. “I’ll, um… I’ll just turn, and…”

 

Nicole’s gentle splashing in her attempt to look away and give Waverly some privacy has drawn the attention of the woman walking around quietly in the background.

 

“Is everythin’ alright?” the woman asks innocently, without a hint of concern, and Waverly breathes a sigh of relief in the fact that she doesn’t appear to have overheard anything.

 

“Yes,” Nicole answers quickly. “Sorry, ma’am. I just… slipped a little. I’m sorry to disturb you.”

 

“More than alright, Deputy,” she says, waving her hand vaguely. “Sure there’s nothin’ else I can get you?”

 

Waverly takes the opportunity while Nicole is temporarily distracted, talking to the attendant, to slip out of the bath before wrapping a towel around herself quickly. And it’s not that she doesn’t want Nicole to see, _that_ she doesn’t mind at all, but she’s conscious of the way that Nicole has been utterly chivalrous in every facet of their interaction this evening, and she doesn’t want to undermine something Nicole is obviously taking incredibly careful effort to maintain.

 

She sees Nicole register the movement out of the corner of her eye, not moving a muscle in order to maintain Waverly’s privacy, an effort that makes Waverly feel warm. Unless she’s simply acting that way because she doesn’t care to look, _at all_. But then again, she had reacted visibly to the idea of seeing Waverly unclothed. God, the thoughts and different pieces of rationale spinning around in Waverly’s head are enough to make her feel slightly sick, and she closes her eyes, taking a deep breath before she starts to dress herself carefully.

 

She can hear the attendant move away after a moment, and once she’s clothed in enough that Waverly doesn’t _think_ Nicole will be too uncomfortable, Waverly turns to her again.  She’s careful to keep her eyes on Nicole’s face because she can see _more_ from this different vantage point than she could see from the other, but Nicole has her arms, not intentionally, Waverly doesn’t think, crossed over her chest in a way that protects her own privacy perfectly.

 

“You’re okay?” Waverly asks quietly, once the woman is far enough away on the other side of the room. “I mean…”

 

“I’ll see you soon,” Nicole affirms with a slightly sad smile, nodding as she lathers some of Waverly’s soap between her hands, and Waverly doesn’t think she’s ever been envious of a block of _soap_ before, but… “I’ll come to the back door?”

  
“Knock three times, so I know it’s you?” Waverly asks, and she sees Nicole nod approvingly at her little security measure.

 

“Good thinking,” Nicole smiles at her before dropping her gaze to her hands beneath the water, and Waverly can’t help but beam at her praise. “You’re okay to get back to the Inn? Because I can finish up…?”

 

“No,” Waverly says quickly, shaking her head and freeing a few more of her hairs that drop down into her eyes, making her blink. “No, you stay here for a while longer. Don’t rush on my account, alright? You’ve earned as long a rest as you need. I’ll be just fine.”

 

“If you’re sure?” Nicole asks, her eyes softening, her concern for Waverly’s wellbeing clearly at war with her desire to remain in the steaming hot bath as long as humanly possible.

 

“Of course,” Waverly affirms before bending down to collect the basket containing her dirty clothes, hooking it over her arm. “Take your time, please?”

 

Nicole nods gently, giving Waverly a small smile that she can’t quite read, unsure if it’s hope or resignation in her eyes, before Waverly draws in a deep breath, preparing to remove herself from Nicole’s presence. She bids the attendant a kind farewell, thanking her for the service and her concern, before making her way back across to the Inn. It’s almost fully dark now, and she’s sure it’s just the thought of what she knows is happening somewhere in this town, but Waverly could swear she can feel something oppressive in the darkness, watching her, so she hastens her steps, almost running to close the short distance to the front door of the Inn.

 

Curtis is there at the front desk when Waverly bursts in, a little breathless, clutching the basket to her chest.

 

“Lord, darlin’,” Curtis says with a smile. “The devil on your heels or somethin’?”

 

“No,” Waverly sighs in relief at being inside the comfort and safety of the Inn, and she’s sure she’s only being ridiculous, and there wasn't _actually_ anything there. She wonders if Oakley will make a fuss, when she takes her home in a moment. “No, I’m sorry Uncle Curtis. I don’t know what got into me.”

 

“It’s alright,” he replies, smiling at her with a slightly bemused expression. “Your aunt’s in the kitchen with your new friend. I’m not sure you’ll actually manage to pry that dog from her arms long enough to take her home, though.”

 

“I thought that might be a problem,” Waverly says wryly, her lip curling in a smile as she looks to her uncle. “Love at first sight, huh?”

 

“Not that she’ll ever admit it,” Curtis laughs as Waverly makes her way past him and into the kitchen. “Hey, kiddo, if you want me to walk you back over soon, just holler, alright?”

 

“Thanks, Curtis,” Waverly replies warmly, smiling at him before walking through the door, following the heavy scent of something good enough to make Waverly remember she hasn’t eaten today.

 

She walks into the kitchen to find Gus and Oakley, as expected, completely wrapped up in each other’s attention, Oakley on her haunches while Gus gestures to her, teaching Oakley, Waverly thinks anyway, to sit.

 

“Well, aren’t you two a sight?” Waverly says, smiling as she leans her hip against the door frame.

 

Gus doesn’t bother to move or hide what she’s doing, just looks up at Waverly with a sort of resigned, slightly reluctant smile.

 

“Clever animal, you’ve got here,” Gus growls affectionately, gesturing for Waverly to take a seat across the small table again, which Waverly accepts with a smile.

 

“She is, isn’t she?” Waverly replies fondly, tilting her head to look at Oakley watching Gus. “You two have had a nice time, then?”

 

“Taught you two new tricks, haven’t I, girl?” Gus coos to Oakley in a voice Waverly has only ever heard spoken to children Gus has a great fondness for. “We can sit and speak, huh?”

 

At the command _speak_ , Oakley barks once, and Gus rewards her with a scrap of dried meat before turning to Waverly, looking mildly pleased with herself.

 

“I’m _very_ impressed,” Waverly says as she drops her elbows onto the table and then her head into her hands. She felt okay before, but she’s beginning to feel the tendrils of exhaustion wind their way up her arms and into her chest.

 

“Feelin’ better?” Gus asks softly, her eyes moving appraisingly over Waverly, just as Nicole’s had done.

 

“Much,” Waverly sighs happily, and she does feel better, thank goodness, the feeling of Champ’s hand around her arm washed clean from her body, replaced with the soft image of Nicole and long, _lean_ muscles, instead. “Thank you for lookin’ after her for me.”

 

“Any time,” Gus replies, looking to a very happy Oakley. “She’ll not need any more to eat tonight, if you’re of a mind to feed her. I think she’s had mor’n enough.”

 

“Thank you,” Waverly says, bending down to pat Oakley, who turns her head excitedly at Waverly’s return, licking the proffered hand. “Mattie did leave me with a bit of food, but I think it’s better she’s eaten a little earlier; she’ll probably fall fast asleep as soon as we get back.”

 

“What about you?” Gus asks with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t think that scrawny behind of yours has had anythin’ to eat today. Do you want me to whip you somethin’ up?”

 

“No,” Waverly says in spite of the growling of her stomach, because she’s already aware of how much time she’s spent here, and she doesn’t want to risk missing Nicole if she arrives before Waverly has a chance to get back. “No. Thank you, Gus, but I’m alright. I think I’m just going to try and sleep.”

 

“You sure you’re alright, darlin’?” Gus asks her, her eyes settling on Waverly with heavy concern. “Because we’ve got a room spare upstairs if you want to stay here the night. The shop’ll be fine without you. I know you say you’re okay, but that asshole Hardy has a way of getting under _everyone’s_ skin, it’s okay to admit that. It’s okay to admit that it _affected_ you, Waverly.”

 

The sigh that slips from her lungs is heavy, almost painful, because she’s _tired_. She’s tired of thinking about him, she’s tired of the ache of his grip. She just wants Nicole.

 

“I’ll be alright there, Gus,” Waverly says softly, reaching to place her hand on Gus’s shoulder. “I promise. Besides, I think it’ll be good for me to be there. Home. I can’t let the last memory of the day there be him. It’s my shop, I won’t let him taint that for me.”

 

“Good girl,” Gus growls, nodding approvingly. “But, if you change your mind…”

 

“I know,” Waverly nods, her eyes softening in an unspoken thanks. “I know, Gus. I’ll come right back here.”

 

“Sure I can’t talk you into eatin’ anythin’?” Gus offers, obviously noting Waverly’s eagerness to leave.

 

“I’m sure, Gus,” Waverly says kindly before setting the basket on the floor so she can free her hands for Oakley. “Thank you, though, for everythin’.”

 

And she doesn't just mean for looking after Oakley, or her offer for food, or helping to calm her down after Champ’s visit. It’s _everything_ , her acceptance of Nicole and of her interactions with her thus far, too.

 

“Of course,” Gus returns easily, smiling that soft smile that Gus only reserves for special occasions, when Waverly sees the side of her that she knows no one else save Curtis and maybe Wynonna have seen. “That’s what I’m here for, love. That’s what we’re both here for.”

 

Waverly nods, fighting back a handful of tears, her throat thickening, a little overwhelmed by everything, before Gus notices, standing to hand Oakley to Waverly to play the distraction Gus knows she needs in the moment. She takes the warm body gratefully, hugging Oakley tightly to her chest, allowing the small heartbeat to draw her own into a calmer rhythm. It takes a minute, but it slows, gradually and softly, it _slows_.

 

“You want Curtis to walk you back over?” Gus offers before she stands to walk Waverly to the door. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

 

“He already offered,” Waverly returns softly, smiling at both of their thoughtfulness. “And I think I’ll take him up on it, if you don’t think it would be a bother.”

 

“That man’d dry the oceans up if you asked him to, kid,” Gus replies, smiling at Waverly’s concerned frown. “I think walkin’ you across the road will be just fine.”

 

Waverly blushes a little at the sentiment before she finds herself alongside her uncle, already standing up from behind the desk to see her out. 

 

“Come on, let’s get you and your shadow there back home to sleep, huh? You just about look dead on your feet," Curtis replies with a wink, sweeping his coat off the back of his chair.

 

“Thank you, Curtis,” Waverly says gratefully, giving him a small smile before looking to the elbow he offers her, juggling Oakley slightly so she can free herself to take it.

 

Waverly spins, turning to press a quick kiss to Gus’s cheek before her uncle grins at the gesture and begins to walk Waverly towards the door. The second they’re out of easy earshot of the front desk that Waverly knows Gus will now be sitting at, Curtis turns to her with a smile on his lips.

 

“So,” he offers casually as they take slow step after step. “Your aunt tells me you’ve been spending an awful lot of time with the new deputy.”

 

Waverly’s blood runs a little cold at his words, because she knows Curtis would have found out eventually, it’s just, she has no idea how he actually feels about a different kind of _relationship_ like that.

 

“Uh…” Waverly stammers a little incomprehensibly, not sure at all about what to say, or where to try and steer the conversation, before Curtis pats her arm reassuringly.

 

“It’s alright, darlin’,” Curtis says, his voice soft and low like one might speak to a nervous animal. “I think she’s a wonderful girl.”

 

And that is not what she had been expecting at all, not at _all_ , and if she was caught off guard before, there really aren’t any words for how she’s feeling now.

 

“You…” Waverly says awkwardly, not quite sure _what_ she’s actually going to say, before she pulls her nerve together between her palms and tries again. “You do?”

 

“I do,” Curtis answers kindly. “I think she’s a _fine_ young woman, Waverly. And she seems, if I might be so bold, rather smitten with you.”

 

“You think so?” Waverly asks nervously, because she wants so desperately to believe that to be true, but she just doesn’t know.

 

“I do,” Curtis nods again, the smile falling from his lips easily, causing the ache in Waverly’s heart to ease, _just_ a little.

 

He stops them up short, and Waverly’s surprised to find the two of them outside the front door of her shop already. She’s about to try and awkwardly jostle Oakley in her arms to reach for the key in her skirt pocket when Curtis stops her gently.

 

“Don’t fret, love, Gus gave me her spare in case you wanted me to walk you home,” Curtis says, pulling a key out of his pocket. “I’ll just come in and have a quick look around, huh?”

 

Waverly nods, aware instantly of what it is that Curtis is _actually_ doing, offering subtly and non-verbally to do a security check of the shop and her room upstairs, to make sure Waverly feels safe here alone for the night after the events of the day. Waverly smiles a little tearily as she watches Curtis open the door before walking through, checking downstairs before walking upstairs quickly, returning to Waverly’s side with a smile on his face.

 

“You’re all good, kiddo,” Curtis says affectionately, placing a hand on Waverly’s arm reassuringly. “You sure you’re gonna be okay here?”

 

“Just fine,” Waverly grins in return, breathing a little easier with Curtis’s check of the shop complete. “I’ll be just fine, thank you, Uncle Curtis.”

 

“Anytime,” Curtis replies graciously as he makes to leave. “Now, how about you let me out through the back door, and I can take a quick look at that alley before I head back across the road.”

 

Waverly nods, bending down to place Oakley on the ground so she can complete her own scout of the shop while Waverly sees her uncle out. They walk to the door, Curtis doing the chore of opening the hidden door before Waverly helps pull it back so he can step half into it.

 

“I’m real proud of you, kiddo, I want you to know that, alright?” Curtis says suddenly, looking to Waverly with an expression slightly softer than usual. “I know this life’s dealt you a damn terrible hand, but you conduct yourself better than most other people twice your age. You’re brave, and you’re not shy about standin’ up for what you believe in, and I’m damn proud to call you ours, even if we weren’t responsible for makin’ you.”

 

Waverly’s composure cracks clean down the middle at his words, because she’s always known Gus and Curtis have been beyond fond of her, but hearing it from Curtis is _something else._ Her eyes start to water dangerously, but it’s okay, because Curtis doesn’t hesitate for a moment before sweeping her up into his arms. She breathes two huge bone-shaking breaths before he feels her calm in his arms and pulls away.

 

“You’re going to be just fine Waverly,” he says with so much certainty that Waverly can’t help but believe him. “I promise. You and the Deputy’ll sort things out, I know you will.”

 

“How did you…?” Waverly asks, confused, because she hasn’t actually said anything about _that_ to Gus, or anyone for that matter, only Chrissy, so how did he…

 

“You’re not the only one who’s looked like someone took their favourite toy today, darlin’,” Curtis clarifies with a wry smile as he wraps his arm across her shoulder affectionately. “I don’t know what’s goin’ on, but just… promise an old man that you’ll talk to her, will you?”

 

Waverly nods again, not quite confident in the strength of her voice until she can swallow thickly and clear her throat. “I promise.”

 

“Atta-girl,” Curtis replies, squeezing her shoulder gently before releasing it and letting his hand drop to his side. “You sure you’re okay here?”

 

Waverly nods one last time, leaning forward to press a kiss to Curtis’s cheek before he dips his head, smiling, and leaves Waverly to herself. Oakley bumps into her legs as if to say _don’t worry, I’m here_ and Waverly softens, bending down to scratch behind Oakley’s ears for a moment.

 

She’s just about to close the door when she hears Curtis speak to someone else, her heart stopping for a second until she hears the voice that answers his genial greeting.

 

“Good evenin’, Deputy,” Curtis says, his voice sounding slightly amused. “Fine evenin’ for a stroll, isn’t it?”

 

-


	9. nine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> This will be my last chapter for a few weeks while I'm away on holiday! I'll try my best to find a way to post for the next two Monday's but I'm really not counting on being able to, so I hope you enjoy the quick little update today. This was a good chapter to write, just FYI, so I hope you all enjoy it too! Massive thanks as always to @iamthegaysmurf for all her help. 
> 
> Come and leave me a little message on [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) if you feel so inclined, and take care :)
> 
> x

-

 

She’s careful not to be seen, not wanting to disrupt the privacy Nicole will think she has with Curtis, but Waverly can’t resist peering out of the crack in the door that presents her with a very narrow view of the darkened street. 

 

There’s not a lot actually visible in the non-existent light, but she can just make out the faint outline of Nicole, dressed in a similar outfit to what she had been wearing the other night, her lighter clothes, without a vest, and with her hair long and wet down around her shoulders, that makes Waverly’s heart flutter. 

 

“Yes, sir,” Nicole replies with a note of worry in her voice, obviously distressed at being found down the back alley of Waverly’s shop after sundown. “I, uhhh… I was just…”

 

Waverly smiles at the endearingly sweet waver around her words, as caught off guard as she obviously is having not expected to find anyone else on her way here, before daring to look out again. 

 

“It’s quite alright, Nicole,” Curtis says simply, resting his hand briefly on Nicole’s shoulder when he passes her, an obvious sign of his blessing, and Waverly can see Nicole’s face soften at that, even in the dark. “Just make sure you take care of our girl, you hear?”

 

Waverly can see Nicole’s expression change at that, from soft to hopeful, and then to something Waverly can’t quite ascertain the root of, although she thinks Nicole looks sad. 

 

Curtis doesn’t seem to notice that, though, or if he does, he takes it for some other meaning, but Waverly has seen enough of Nicole’s expressions now, she’s spent enough time watching her closely. She’s spent enough time seeking to learn as much as she possibly can from the curve of Nicole’s lips and the angle of her shoulders and the way she sighs sometimes when Waverly walks within a few feet of her, to know the difference between Nicole happy and Nicole  _ not _ . 

 

“Have a good evenin’, Deputy,” Curtis says by way of a farewell before Nicole watches him leave. She doesn’t move for a moment, transfixed, Waverly thinks, by Curtis’s words, exactly the same way as they have frozen Waverly herself. 

 

He doesn’t stall to talk further, having evidently said everything he needed to say, leaving Nicole alone in the alley for a moment to gather her thoughts. Waverly watches Nicole close her eyes, visibly steeling herself for a conversation she obviously doesn’t think is going to go well, before taking the few steps towards the door.

 

“Nicole,” Waverly asks half-rhetorically, because she can already see that it  _ is _ her, smiling brightly when the redhead comes a little closer, trying to play nonchalant as best as she can. 

 

“Hi,” Nicole says with obvious trepidation, and Waverly can see the flash of something warring within her, slowing her steps to delay whatever inevitability she obviously thinks is about to occur. She still moves for Waverly regardless though, as if bound to her by some invisible ribbon. 

 

“Did you pass Curtis?” Waverly asks innocently, trying to play a little dumb so Nicole need not worry about having been overseen or heard. 

 

“You didn’t hear us?” Nicole questions in return, tilting her head to the side in a way that makes Waverly’s heart  _ swell _ . 

 

“No,” Waverly answers easily, smiling at Nicole. “Not at all, I’m sorry. Oakley was fussin’ at my feet and I was bent down to her, so I…”

 

Waverly pauses before looking to Nicole, uncharacteristically quiet and uncertain. She softens instead of continuing directly, focusing on the bend of Nicole’s neck and the shade of her eyes, ever so slightly darker than they normally are. 

 

“Are you…” Waverly begins, wanting to ask Nicole whether she’s okay. She’s not sure whether that will make things better or worse, and she really doesn’t want to push, so she changes the subject instead to give Nicole a moment’s breathing room. “Would you like to come in?”

 

“Of course,” Nicole says with, Waverly thinks, a nervous note in her voice. “If you’re not up to a visitor however, I can call on you another time?”

 

“Now is fine by me,” Waverly replies, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice, because she wants to do this now, before she loses her nerve. She doesn’t want to wait, even if she’s bone-tired. It’s important for her that she do - speak to Nicole about  _ everything _ \- now. “But if you’d rather…”

 

“No,” Nicole says quietly, shaking her head in a way that tells Waverly that despite Nicole’s own clear discomfort, she’ll acquiesce if it’s something Waverly herself desires. “If you’d like my company, then-.”

 

“Nicole,” Waverly interrupts with equal softness and strength, because she appreciates this, honestly she does, but she won’t keep Nicole here if she really doesn’t  _ want _ to be here. “I want you to stay because it’s what you want.  _ That’s _ what I want. I don’t want to put you out or make you in any way uncomfortable, or-”

 

“You’re not,” Nicole says, cutting across Waverly gently, shaking her head again. “I’m sorry, Waverly, it’s just been a day is all. But it’s not fair to bring that to you.”

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Waverly asks before watching Oakley take herself up the stairs, gesturing for Nicole to join her inside. “I don’t want to presume, but if you’d like to stay, would you…?”

 

“Of course,” Nicole returns with a small smile, and it sounds a little bit more like the person Waverly has come to know when she does. There’s something in the strained timbre of Nicole’s voice that tells Waverly she’s still anxious though and it’s only then, too, that Waverly notices the basket draped over Nicole’s arm, as focussed as she had been on Nicole’s presentation and demeanour. 

 

“Gus made me bring something over,” Nicole says a little sheepishly, holding the basket Waverly had just returned to her, now laden again with food. “She said you need to eat, and she’s right, Waverly.”

 

“Not you, too,” Waverly scowls at Nicole playfully before she starts to walk up the stairs behind Oakley. “Perhaps I’ll rescind my invitation, huh?”

 

When she looks back over her shoulder to smile at Nicole, Waverly catches sight of an unfamiliar expression on Nicole’s face that worries her. It makes her take the step quicker, so that she might finally sit Nicole down and ask her what it is that’s troubling her so clearly. They reach the upper floor and Waverly’s thankful she had thought to tidy up before she’d left to see Gus earlier, the room presenting itself similarly to the night previously when Nicole had arrived for their date. 

 

“Your room really is lovely, Waverly,” Nicole sighs appreciatively when she takes the final step behind Waverly, looking around the space dimly lit by a few oil lamps Curtis must have turned on when he’d come up a moment before. 

 

“Thank you,” Waverly says, smiling quietly, watching Nicole’s eyes move around the room, settling on different parts of Waverly’s heart assembled across the small space. 

 

She moves to take the basket from Nicole’s hands and their eyes both fall, distracted, on different parts of one another’s bodies. Waverly’s to the strands of liquid fire draped over Nicole’s shoulder and the almost exquisite softness in her eyes, and Nicole’s across Waverly’s face before falling to the bruise now visible on her arm with the movement of reaching for the basket. 

 

Nicole stops everything else, setting the basket down on the table so she can take Waverly’s forearm in her hands. She stops an inch away from the skin, though, remembering where she is and what she's doing, looking to Waverly for consent before she makes contact. 

 

“I’m sorry, Waverly. I shouldn’t have assumed,” Nicole says quietly, pausing in her movement, looking to Waverly with an expression that’s so carefully thoughtful, Waverly could cry beneath the weight of it. “May I have a look?”

 

“Of course,” Waverly says with a swift exhalation, not moving her arm, but taking another step to bring the rest of her body towards Nicole’s, to be  _ closer _ to her. 

 

Nicole’s touch is so soft that Waverly barely feels it at first. Her fingers whisper across the skin as she meets Waverly’s gaze, something like confusion settling in her eyes at Waverly’s step forward before she returns her concentration back to Waverly’s arm. 

 

“Are you okay?” is the first thing that falls from Nicole’s mouth, not an admonishment for letting this happen, or an accusation that Waverly must have done something to draw this upon herself. “Are you hurt anywhere else? Does it hurt badly now?”

 

“It aches a little, but it’s okay,” Waverly says, wincing ever so slightly when Nicole’s thumb brushes a particularly heavy part of the bruise. 

 

“God, I’m sorry, Waverly. I didn’t…” Nicole says quickly, moving to draw her hand away, but Waverly’s free hand closes over it quicker, holding it in place. 

 

“It’s okay,” Waverly says, her voice as gentle as Nicole’s touch. “It’s okay, Nicole. It’s nice. It feels nice. Your touch, I mean. Instead of his. I don’t mind yours at all.”

 

“You don’t?” Nicole asks with an uncertain waver in her hands, as well as her breath, looking to Waverly as though trying to ascertain something else from her gaze. 

 

“I really don’t,” Waverly assures her, tilting her head to the side to watch Nicole watching her. 

 

“He should never have been able to get his hands on you, Waverly,” Nicole says a little fiercely, and the emotion there is plain. “I’m so sorry that he did. I’m  _ so _ sorry I wasn’t there. I promised you I’d be there for you, that I’d keep you safe, and I…”

 

“Nicole, it isn’t your fault,” Waverly hurries to say, taking Nicole’s hand off her forearm so she can hold it between her own hands. “It wasn’t your fault. It was Champ’s, alright?  _ Only _ his.”

 

“I know, but-” Nicole tries to reason, but Waverly shakes her head gently, and she stops mid-sentence. 

 

“No, buts,” Waverly says with a soft smile. “It was the middle of the day, with people everywhere. No one would have thought he would be so dim as to try and hurt me in plain-sight. I don’t think  _ he _ thought he was going to until he did.”

 

“I want to knock his ass into the dirt,” Nicole growls quietly, and Waverly can see her concentrating on the way their hands touch, using it, Waverly thinks, to calm herself. “Or worse than. God, the  _ nerve _ of him.”

 

“I think Gus shares the sentiment,” Waverly replies, trying to infuse her contact over Nicole’s hands with as much calm as she can. “It’s okay, though. I’m okay, I promise.”

 

“But he hurt you,” Nicole says with a heavy sigh, and Waverly can feel the ache of Nicole’s guilt in her own ribs, that she hadn’t been able to prevent it. “He  _ hurt _ you, Waverly.”

 

“I know, but I’m alright,” Waverly breathes steadily. “And besides, I know it’s not an excuse, but I think I might have provoked him a little. Not intentionally, but…”

 

“What happened to make you think that?” Nicole asks, furrowing her brow in question, and Waverly sees the flash of something across Nicole’s eyes, the hint of what Waverly thinks is realisation. 

 

That she  _ knows _ what it was that had made Champ so angry. Something about them.  _ It must have been something about them _ . Them, or Nicole, or both. 

 

“It was barely anything at all,” Waverly says slowly, choosing her words as carefully as she can while maintaining contact through Nicole’s palms. “I told him I wasn’t his, that I was  _ never _ going to be his, and he took that to mean… he took that to mean that I must have been… someone  _ else’s _ .”

 

“Mine,” Nicole says a little distractedly as a look of horror crosses her face. “He thought you were  _ mine _ . This is my fault.”

 

“No,” Waverly says strongly, tightening her grip on Nicole’s hands. “No, Nicole, this is not your fault. Not at all. Please, I didn’t mean for it to sound like that.” 

 

“But…” Nicole begins, her face pale now, her grip slackening beneath Waverly’s with her worry. 

 

“No,” Waverly says again, stronger than before. “It’s not your fault at all, but it did… it made me realise how greatly I need to talk to you about somethin’.”

 

If Waverly thought Nicole looked pale before, she looks deathly so now, and Waverly’s actually about to ask her if she needs to sit down, when Nicole speaks with an even shakier voice than before. 

 

“Waverly,” Nicole says quietly, trying to draw her hands away from beneath Waverly’s. “It’s okay, you don’t have to… I understand.”

 

“You understand what?” Waverly asks, frowning again, and she tightens her grip on Nicole, not enough to feel oppressive, but enough that Nicole gets the message that she doesn’t want to let go. 

 

“That you…” Nicole says a little thickly, and Waverly can feel her shoulders closing in already, trying to protect herself. Although from what, Waverly isn’t entirely sure yet. “That you… that you want to…sever our ties.”

 

“Why would I want to do that?” Waverly asks, genuinely confused, before every inch of Nicole’s behaviour tonight, her nervousness, her quietness, comes crashing down around Waverly’s shoulders. “Oh, god. You think I want to…”

 

“It’s alright, Waverly,” Nicole says stoically, swallowing hard, although Waverly knows it’s a front. 

 

She can see the tears already collecting at the corner of Nicole’s eyes, in spite of how much Waverly knows Nicole will be fighting so hard against them. “It’s alright, truly, you don’t have to explain… I can just take my leave of you. I won’t bother you again, I promise.”

 

“Nicole,” Waverly says quickly, when Nicole tries to pull away more insistently, no longer meeting Waverly’s eyes. “Nicole, I don’t want you to go.”

 

That draws Nicole up short, and she stops like stone in place before looking to Waverly with a confused expression of her own. 

 

“But…” Nicole utters quietly, her eyes moving over Waverly’s face for some kind of explanation. “But… Champ…?”

 

Waverly’s more than a little furious with herself for allowing Nicole to think for a moment that she had wanted to break off their contact at all, let alone because of Champ’s threats, and she’s even angrier at herself that she hadn’t realised what the clues Nicole had been subconsciously giving her the entire evening, meant. 

 

“He’s the reason for this,” Waverly says, her voice soft and her eyes softer. “He’s what made me realise I don’t  _ want _ to settle for someone like him, Nicole.”

 

“What do you want?” Nicole asks, barely above a whisper, one small grain of hope between her teeth. 

 

“I want you _ , _ Nicole,” Waverly breathes, and she’s so nervous she feels faintly sick, but it’s worth everything when she sees Nicole’s whole body  _ lift _ . “I don’t want to settle for someone I’m never going to be happy with. Someone who doesn’t know who I am. I want  _ you _ .”

 

“You do?” Nicole questions in reply, and it’s so soft, her voice, that it feels like a heartbeat. “But…”

 

“No buts,” Waverly repeats shyly. “I just want you. I want to be by your side, Nicole. No one else’s. I want to be yours, and selfishly, want you to be mine.”

 

“Me?” Nicole says with such an exquisite softness that it makes Waverly’s ribs tense. “You want…”

 

“If you’ll have me, of course,” Waverly says quietly, shrugging her shoulders, dropping her eyes to their still-joined hands. “If you want me. But if you don’t, then that’s alr—.”

 

“I do,” Nicole replies with a glistening in her eyes and relief in her lungs. “Of course I do, Waverly. God, I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life, but…”

 

_ But _ . 

 

There’s a but. Waverly’s heart drops at the word, messily on the floor between them, because she was right. There is something there. Nicole doesn’t want her, just like she’d been worried about. 

 

“I do,” Nicole affirms softly at the crestfallen look that must appear on Waverly’s face, before trying to finish her thought. “I really do, but… Waverly, have you thought about what this means, havin’ me by your side? Have you thought about what it will  _ do _ ?”

 

“Thought about it?” Waverly asks, assuming Nicole is referring to the potential stigma associated with a relationship such as the one they’re considering pursuing. “I mean, I know it’s not gonna be easy, that we’ll have to be careful and we can’t be open about everythin’, but…”

 

“It’s more than that, though, Waverly,” Nicole says gently, imploringly, and there’s a pain that appears in her eyes that Waverly hasn’t seen before. “It’s more’n just havin’ to hide from everyone, it’s…if people find out, it can be worse than a few dirty stares down Main Street. There will always be men who want to do this to you, who will want to  _ set you right _ like Champ does, and no matter how careful we are, that is  _ always _ gonna be a risk.”

 

“I know it is,” Waverly answers, and she’s not sure, but she thinks it sounds as though Nicole is trying to talk her out of this. “I know all those things, Nicole. I’ve run them through in my head night after night after night since you set foot inside my shop.” 

 

“The thing is, though, I’m not sure if you do,” Nicole says softly, and Waverly knows she’s not trying to undermine her, and it’s not that she’s not taking Waverly seriously. She’s  _ worried _ . Waverly can see clearly how worried she is. “I’m not sure if you’ve thought about what that would be like, to be the object of conflict and hate like that.”

 

“Don’t I?” Waverly asks a little disbelievingly, her eyes widening defensively, and she knows Nicole won’t have thought of it like that, not when she watches another look of horror cross Nicole’s features, but it stings nonetheless.

 

“Oh, god. Waverly, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, of course you have,” Nicole hurries to clarify, her eyes pleading for Waverly’s forgiveness, shaking her head crossly and scowling at herself. “I just mean… it’s different like this. It can be more personal, when someone’s disgusted at you, not at your family. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to cause any offense to you, never  _ ever _ that, it’s just…”

 

“It’s just, what?” Waverly asks quietly, waiting for Nicole to strike the death-blow to her tenderly-hanging heart. 

 

“It’s just…” Nicole starts sadly, and Waverly can tell there’s a physical toll on each word that falls past her lips now. That every single breath hurts her to speak. If only Waverly knew where the origin of the pain was. “I don’t think I can do this again.”

 

“Don’t think you can do what?” Waverly asks, so,  _ so _ quietly, waiting tremulously for everything to fall apart with Nicole’s answer.

 

“I don’t think I can do this with someone who hasn’t thought all that through,” Nicole says, with tears beginning to well in the corner of her eyes. “Who isn’t totally prepared for the consequences, every single horribly unpleasant one. Who’s gonna run back to  _ safe _ when those come front and centre, because they’re scared. Because I fell in love with someone who wasn’t. I let my heart run away with me and cloud my judgement, and I fell, hard, and it broke me, Waverly. It broke every single bone in my body, and they took  _ years _ to grow back.” 

 

“What happened?” Waverly asks timidly, because she doesn’t want to cause Nicole any undue stress or pain recollecting what is obviously difficult, but she knows that whatever it is that Nicole’s holding on to, it’s important. “Will you tell me?”

 

“If you want to know?” Nicole offers quietly, dropping her head and breaking their eye contact for a second to give herself a moment’s reprieve. “Of course I’ll tell you.”

 

“I do,” Waverly replies with an equal softness, her thumb sweeping over Nicole’s knuckles. “But only if you feel like you can.”

 

“It’s better now,” Nicole says, sighing a little, and Waverly can tell that the weight of whatever it is, is less of a burden on the curve of her spine now than it was. 

 

“You can stop whenever you need,” Waverly returns, conscious of Nicole’s still delicate appearance, and the fact that she really doesn’t want to push Nicole past a point she’s comfortable speaking about. 

 

Nicole nods once at Waverly’s offer, smiling a small sad smile and taking a deep breath, squeezing their joined hands to draw strength from their connection, before she begins. 

 

“We met young,” Nicole explains, dropping her gaze again. “We were still children when our friendship began. Just past ten years, I think? And we were friends for a  _ long _ time before somethin’ changed. The first time she kissed me, I was eighteen, under the eaves of her family’s barn, and I couldn’t believe what was happenin’ because I’d spend the last three years pining after her.”

 

Waverly can see that Nicole is somewhere else as she speaks, her eyes in another time, another place, even if her body is here and present with Waverly herself. She watches Nicole swallow heavily, before she breathes and continues. 

 

“It was good, for a while, we had a good couple’a years together,” Nicole explains with still-glazed eyes. “She was terrified of anyone findin’ out, but we were still young, so no one batted an eyelash when we spent every wakin’ second with each other. That changed after we both turned twenty, though. She’d had suitors sniffin’ around for the last year or so, pushing back against her parents to facilitate anythin’, under the guise that she wasn’t ready, when it had really been on account of me.”

 

She watches then as Nicole’s expression shifts from nostalgic to something slightly harder. 

 

“The night I told her I wanted to be with her forever, and everything changed,” Nicole says with a firmer tone to her words. “I made some passin’ comment, nothin’ serious, and she changed. She panicked, I think. She froze, and said that could never happen because we’d need to be married someday —to men— and we could be friends maybe, but that this would have to stop, because she couldn’t have people  _ find out _ . I knew she was scared, and I thought it was just a knee-jerk reaction, you know? So I calmed her down a little, reassured her that it wasn’t anythin’ we needed to worry about just yet, because we  _ were _ young, but things were never the same after that.”

 

Nicole’s tone isn’t spiteful or resentful, as one might expect someone else recounting a tale of abandoned love. But not Nicole. Even faced with a thing like this, she stays calm. 

 

“She started worryin’ every time we were seen out together. She stopped holdin’ my hand when we were around others, even though we’d done that for years,” Nicole recounts, looking up to Waverly briefly when Waverly tightens her grip around Nicole’s hands. “I saw the signs. I should’ve done something sooner, but I was in love, and I knew the only thing I could  _ really _ do was break our bond.” 

 

Nicole sighs heavily then. Waverly can feel her lungs creak under the depth of it. She looks to Waverly for a moment, clarity in her eyes breaking through the fog for a second. 

 

“Are you alright?” Waverly asks gently, moving a half-step closer to Nicole in an attempt to help with the warmth of her own body. “You don’t have to carry on if you don’t…”

 

“It’s okay,” Nicole affirms, nodding, taking her turn to tighten her hands around Waverly’s. 

 

Waverly nods in return, trying not to smile too widely when she notices the way Nicole reacts to her half-step, moving the same distance closer to Waverly. She gives Nicole a supportive little nod of the head, encouraging her to begin again, and Nicole does. 

 

“It didn’t take long for it to come to a head after that,” Nicole says factually, and it’s a mild relief to Waverly that she hears very little emotion attached to the tale now, a demonstration that Nicole does seem, and is perhaps, over whomever this was. “Somebody made a passin’ comment about her not bein’ married and spendin’ all her time with me, and did she want to shack up with a  _ woman _ like those women he’d heard tale of, and she just froze, which, of course, was the worst thing to do.”

 

Nicole pauses for a second, looking to Waverly, checking in, Waverly thinks, to make sure that she’s alright, too. Cognisant maybe that this can’t be easy for Waverly to hear, either. She’s okay, though, so she gives Nicole a little signal of affirmation before she begins to draw things to a close. 

 

“His eyes went wider than hers, and the next thing we knew, she was battlin’ the local rumour mill,” Nicole says balefully, a reflection of the town, and not whomever this woman was. “That didn’t last long, though. A day after that happened, she turned up with the hardest look I’ve ever seen on her face and broke our ties. She said that she’d been confused. That she hadn’t known what she’d wanted, but that she knew now. And then she was engaged by the end of the week to one of the boys we’d grown up with.”

 

“Oh, Nicole,” Waverly breathes, stepping closer still, running one of her hands up to Nicole’s elbow and back, because it would have been hard enough snapping their relationship in two, but to have to watch her with someone else must have been torture. “I’m so sorry.”

 

“It’s alright,” Nicole says softly, and while Waverly can tell it hurts to say it, the hurt isn’t a fresh —still enamoured, still attached— hurt. It’s the hurt from an old wound that aches when pushed. Dull, and no longer invasive or controlling, but there as a part of her body still, as it will always be. “It was a long time ago now. I’m… the feelings I once had for her are  _ long _ gone, and that makes it easier.”

 

“They are?” Waverly asks hesitantly, asking but  _ not _ asking, the question she so badly wants to ask. “You don’t… you’re not still…”

 

“My feelin’s for her faded to nothing a long time ago, Waverly,” Nicole clarifies in reassurance. “They  _ had _ to, or I wouldn’t have been able to draw myself from bed every mornin’.”

 

“How long?” Waverly questions, dropping her head to watch the way Nicole’s hands curl so beautifully around her own. “Since you… since that happened?”

 

“I was twenty and one,” Nicole replies with little emotion, as if recounting drops of water on a window after rain. “And I’m older than twenty and five now. God, it feels like so much longer. I feel like the world’s a completely different place now.”

 

“It is. You have me now, after all,” Waverly says sweetly, trying to draw a smile out of Nicole now that her story’s done, but she’s not quite finished.

 

“I know you say that, but…” Nicole begins, cutting herself off mid-sentence, sighing with a grief-heavy frown. “Don’t you see? That’s why I don’t know if I can do it again. What I did with Shae. With someone who hasn’t thought it through. Because it almost killed me with her, but Waverly, with what I feel for you  _ already _ , I don’t think I’d survive that with you.” 

 

Waverly’s heart stops at Nicole’s admission before she takes a breath, a slow trembling one, because this is her chance. This is it. This is her moment, toes over the cliff, for her to throw her bones into the earth with Nicole, forever. 

 

“How do you  _ know _ I haven’t?” Waverly questions with a shaky voice, gathering every scrap of courage, taking a breath and jumping into the abyss for Nicole. She slides her palms up Nicole’s forearm, watching Nicole’s eyes flick up to meet hers like a hawk with the intentional movement. “How do you know I haven’t been thinking about this since I was sixteen years old?”

 

Nicole’s face changes then, her eyes shift from devastated to confused, and then to something Waverly knows is  _ hope _ . “What do you mean… wait…you have?” 

 

“I might not have ever  _ done _ anythin’ about it,” Waverly says shyly, shrugging her shoulders as she holds on to Nicole’s hands firmly. “But that doesn’t mean I didn’t  _ think _ about it. Every night in the dark. Imaginin’ what it would feel like for soft lips to touch mine, instead of rough ones.”

 

“You did?” Nicole asks incredulously. “But… you’ve never…”

 

“It wasn’t for lack of  _ wantin’ _ to, trust me,” Waverly laughs, rolling her eyes in a moment of lightness. “Well, not exactly, anyway. It was just… I never found anybody I wanted to take that risk for, you know? And I know you’re worried about me not thinkin’ this through, the  _ consequences _ through, but I have, Nicole. I’ve worried about them night after night, wonderin’ if I should abandon what I know my heart wants for somethin’ easier. And do you know what? Do you know what I realised, lying in the dark, night after night, in the bed you’re sleepin’ in now?”

 

Nicole shakes her head simply, obviously not trusting the strength of her voice, which Waverly takes as a signal to continue. 

 

“That I didn’t care,” Waverly says easily, and with the words, for the first time in her life, she feels free from a weight she didn’t even know held her to the earth, with its claws in her shoulders. “That when I met the right person, it would be worth it, all those consequences, if they loved me back.”

 

She watches a change fall over Nicole then; something shifts, something changes behind her eyes. Waverly watches Nicole unbind her affection for Waverly, free from the tight shackles she’s had it chained to, not wanting to give them free reign until she  _ knew _ there was a chance. 

 

“And I know that sounds naive, or like I’m just a young dreamer, but I promise you I’m not,” Waverly affirms, because this is important to her. It’s crucial that Nicole know how seriously she’s thought about this for years. “I didn’t come to that easily. I came to that through sweat and tears and  _ despair _ , but I came to it nonetheless. If you don’t believe me, ask Wynonna about the conversation I had with her a couple’a years ago, because that’s how long I’ve known for sure that I wasn’t gonna settle for a man. You’re new, and my feelin’s for you are new, but my heart, and what it knows it wants... that’s not _.” _

 

Nicole takes one huge deep breath, rocking back on her heels to accommodate the movement, and Waverly thinks maybe she’s on the edge of tears. 

 

“I’m not Shae, Nicole,” Waverly says softly, ducking her head to catch Nicole’s gaze properly, risking the gesture of tilting Nicole’s head back with a finger under her chin. “I know what I’m doing. And I don’t mean any disrespect, but it’s just that I know what I want, and I know what I’m riskin’ to have it. And I don’t know if you’ve felt something similar in your life, but this is it for me. You’re the one I want to risk it for.”

 

She watches as a thought crosses Nicole’s eyes then, and they widen before she stumbles over an explanation. 

 

“I’m not… I need you to know, too, that I’m not the kinda’ girl that throws her attention towards the first person that pays her mind,” Nicole clarifies for her, imploring Waverly to see. “I know it might seem like that with me comin’ in here and all, but my feelings for you are… they came on quick as a flash, but they’re real, Waverly, more so than I’ve ever felt before. And I…”

 

“It’s okay,” Waverly soothes, stepping in closer still, feeling Nicole’s knee bump gently against her own. She has to tip her head back to retain eye contact like this. “It’s okay, Nicole. I know.”

 

“You do?” Nicole asks so, so, softly, and the vulnerability in Nicole’s voice isn’t like anything Waverly has heard before. 

 

“I do,” Waverly nods easily, running her thumb along Nicole’s jaw, and they’re close now; close enough that Waverly can smell the scent of her perfume she’d given Nicole the night before; close enough that if she pushed up off her tiptoes  _ just _ enough, their lips would meet. 

 

They both breathe in the echo of one another, balanced perfectly between  _ present _ and  _ hope _ , before Waverly sets her heart in the hollow their bodies create. 

 

“I’m all in, Nicole,” Waverly whispers, barely daring to move, lest she break the network of fine lines around them. “I’m yours. I’m all yours. If you want me?”

 

She watches Nicole’s breath catch in her throat, watches her eyes well before biting her lip, and with a movement that stops Waverly’s heart,  _ nods _ . 

 

“I do,” Nicole sighs more than says, and Waverly watches as her face fills with possibility _ , _ and she moves further into Waverly’s touch at her jaw. “I’m yours, too.”

 

She has to strain to suppress a dry sob then as her entire body floods with relief, because  _ she wants me,  _ Waverly thinks, she  _ wants me, she wants me, we can do this.  _ Her eyes flood with tears, and she bites her lip and breathes in the smell of warmth radiating off Nicole, closing them before feeling Nicole’s hand hovering an inch off her hip. 

 

“Can I…” Nicole asks softly, the puff of her breath moving over Waverly’s lips.

 

She’s not sure if Nicole is asking for permission to kiss her, or touch her, or both, but it doesn’t matter, because the answer is yes either way. Yes, yes,  _ yes, Nicole, yes. _

 

Waverly nods slowly, keeping her eyes closed, and it drives this simultaneous want to reach for Nicole, too, before she realises that she can now, she’s allowed to, if Nicole will permit it. She’s so distracted thinking about touching Nicole that she doesn’t notice Nicole’s hand moving to make contact with her hip until Nicole  _ does _ , and Waverly can’t help jumping a little automatically in response. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Nicole says hurriedly, moving to withdraw her hand before Waverly catches it and holds it in place. “I didn’t mean to…”

 

“It’s okay,” Waverly returns easily, reassuringly, resetting Nicole’s hand where it was a moment ago, watching Nicole shiver when her hand makes contact. Her reaction is so whole, so satisfying, that Waverly doesn’t even know how they’re both going to survive when they finally touch skin to skin. 

 

“I want you to touch me,” Waverly says, her voice quiet, and a little timid with the shift into now unfamiliar territory, and she’s relieved to see Nicole step into the hollow her retreating confidence has left. “I  _ always _ do, just for the record…”

 

Nicole smiles the loveliest smile Waverly thinks she’s ever seen, before dropping her eyes down to the one hand they still have joined. She turns Waverly’s hand over, moving her fingers for the space between Waverly’s own, and Waverly can’t help but sigh when they settle there perfectly. 

 

“I hope you won’t mind that I’ll always check,” Nicole offers sweetly, flexing her fingers to find an even more comfortable position. “Because I’d never want you to think that just because you say yes once, that means I can take whenever I want. I always want this to be what you want, too, Waverly. 

 

It’s almost crippling, her kindness, and Waverly’s actually speechless for a second before swallowing heavily, nodding in lieu of a verbal response. She shakes her head to regain control of her faculties after a moment, because it’s important that she articulate just what it means that Nicole has given her  _ choice _ . And she wants Nicole to know that she has the same in return. 

 

“I hope you won’t mind that I will, too,” Waverly says, trying to put as much strength into her voice as she can, because she might be nervous, but that’s no indication that she doesn’t want this more than she wants to breathe. 

 

Nicole’s face breaks out in a flawlessly wide smile, and she ducks her head for a moment to hide her blush, before taking Waverly’s other hand in the hand that was, until a second ago, resting over Waverly’s hip. 

 

“Well, I hope you know that it’s always alright for you to touch me, Waverly,” Nicole affirms, placing Waverly’s hand, palm up, in the space over her collarbone. 

 

She tries to control the shaking of her hand beneath Nicole’s, but it’s  _ so _ hard when she can feel the pounding of Nicole’s heart beneath her fingertips, and the rise of Nicole’s breast beneath the heel of her palm. The ugly purple of the bruise is forefront in her mind, and she almost withdraws it in embarrassment, before Nicole reads the thought in her head. She takes Waverly’s arm gently, raising the bruise to her lips, stopping just short of touching her for Waverly’s nod, which she gives hurriedly. Nicole smirks a little before moving forward that remaining inch, pressing a featherlight kiss to Waverly’s arm. 

 

There had been a tiny breath of pain with the previous touches, but there’s nothing but a tingling that spreads to the ends of her hair with this touch, and her heart stops so solidly she wants to beat her chest in order to prompt it into starting again. And she knows it’s ridiculous, because magic isn’t real, or at least Waverly didn’t  _ think _ it was, but when Nicole’s lips touch her skin for the first time over that bruise, Waverly swears she can feel the blown vessels knitting themselves back together beneath her skin. 

 

Nicole lifts her head after what feels like a lifetime, her eyes setting in place against Waverly’s, and Waverly can’t even think _ , _ because Nicole’s setting Waverly’s hand softly back on her chest so she can raise her now-free hand to push a few strands of hair back away from Waverly’s face. And then she’s leaning in, Nicole is finally leaning in, and then she licks her lips and Waverly’s stomach drops, and she’s looking to Waverly with a question, and all Waverly can do is nod yes, yes,  _ yes _ , before Nicole runs her thumb along Waverly’s jaw, closing her eyes, and Waverly follows suit. 

 

She feels the ghost of Nicole’s breath on her lips, and she can feel her moving in, and her heart is thundering like a runaway train, and  _ just _ when they’re about to kiss, the  _ second _ they should make contact, Oakley’s sharp bark halts them in place. 

 

She barks once, and they freeze, and then she barks twice, and Waverly feels Nicole’s instincts trip, and she pulls her head away sharply - reluctantly, but sharply - to where Oakley has perched herself at the head of Waverly’s bed, presumably barking at something outside the window. Nicole has turned her body toward the source of the noise, but she hasn’t moved her hand from Waverly’s jaw, nor has she unwound her fingers from between Waverly’s own. Oakley begins barking more insistently, though, causing Nicole to turn back to Waverly with a heavily regretful look before she drops her hand from Waverly’s chin. 

 

She goes to extract her hand from Waverly’s own, but Waverly holds tight at the movement, keeping their hands intertwined, causing Nicole to beam, before she begins to walk over to Oakley, still holding Waverly’s hand. She’s distantly nervous at whatever it is that’s making Oakley feel uncomfortable like this, but she’s distracted, almost entirely, by the fact that Nicole is holding her hand. The distraction is short-lived, unfortunately, because Oakley begins growling between her barks, menacingly, at whatever is bothering her outside, and it  _ finally _ drags Waverly from her reverie. 

 

“What’s the matter, girl?” Nicole asks in a soothing voice, keeping her distance from Oakley for a moment, lest she give the dog a fright. “Is there somethin’ out there?”

 

They both peer into the darkness, and Waverly doesn’t  _ think _ she can see anything, but it’s pitch dark now, there aren’t any lights illuminating the street, and the moon is only small, the beginning of a new cycle, so whatever it is Oakley can see, if she  _ can _ in fact see something, is invisible to Waverly’s eyes. 

 

“Can you see anythin’?” Waverly asks, looking to Nicole, easing the frown on her brow from squinting into the darkness. 

 

“Not a thing,” Nicole answers, not yet breaking her eyes away from outside, but not breaking away from Waverly’s hand either. “Can you?”

 

“No,” Waverly says with a slight waver in her voice, because she feels like she knows Oakley well enough now to know that she won’t bark unless there’s cause to. “I can’t see anythin’ at all.”

 

Nicole doesn’t bother to ask Oakley the rhetorical question of whether she’s sure she sees something out there to be barking at, because she trusts the pup as much as Waverly does, which does nothing to assuage the prickling hairs on the back of Waverly’s neck. 

 

“I think I’d best go out and see if I can find anythin’ untoward,” Nicole says with a sigh, finally looking to Waverly with a sad frown on her brow, like she’d rather anything else in the world than have to move from this moment with Waverly. 

 

“But…” Waverly says, before stopping herself halfway through her thought. Because she won’t ask Nicole  _ not _ to go, because she knows this is Nicole’s calling, searching the dark corners so that other people, so that she _ , _ can remain safe, as much as she knows that helping people is her own. 

 

“You’ll be alright here,” Nicole says, her eyes softening, looking at what she thinks is fear for Waverly herself in Waverly’s eyes. “I’d never leave you if I didn’t think you’d be safe somewhere.”

 

“It’s not me I’m…” Waverly says with a blush, averting her eyes, because yes, she’s a little unnerved at Oakley’s barking, and to say she wasn’t scared at  _ all _ would be a lie, but it isn’t  _ herself _ she’s worried about. 

 

It’s Nicole. And she knows Nicole can handle herself better than the vast majority of people in this damn town, but still, Waverly hates the thought of risking it.

 

“It’s  _ you _ .” Waverly admits shyly, scuffing her foot on the floorboard beneath her toe. “I’m not worried about me, I’m worried about  _ you _ . And I know you’re… I know you can handle yourself, but…”

 

“It doesn’t stop you from worryin’?” Nicole finishes for her, eyebrow raised, and Waverly smiles at the playfulness in her voice. “Believe me, Waverly, the feelin’s mutual.”

 

“It is?” Waverly asks shyly, looking down to where their hands are still joined before flicking across to Nicole’s other hand, resting reassuringly on the butt of her gun. 

 

“Yeah,” Nicole answers wryly, her answer curling up the edge of her lip. “It is. How do you think I feel seein’ that bruise on your arm? Worried, is what. And I hate that you would have been scared, too.”

 

“It wasn’t so bad,” Waverly fibs, her tone nonchalant, biting her lip in an effort to reduce Nicole’s worry, but Nicole sees through the thinly veiled attempt immediately. “Okay, so maybe I was, but I’m alright now. You seem to make everythin’ better.”

 

Nicole visibly softens at Waverly’s admission, and it makes Waverly’s heart feel even more whole than before. 

 

“I hope you know you do the same thing to me. You just… everything feels calm, now. Settled,” Nicole admits quietly before something in her changes and a more confident expression settles over her features. “I don't want to leave you, but I want to make sure this is alright. If you don’t want me to go though, I won’t.”

 

“I don't want to stop you from doin’ your job,” Waverly says kindly, tugging Nicole a little closer to her, where they’re standing at the side of her bed. “Go, Nicole. I promise, I’ll be fine.”

 

“You’re sure?” Nicole asks hesitantly, searching Waverly’s face for any sign that it’s not, that Waverly needs her to stay. 

 

“I am,” Waverly says, looking up to Nicole with what she hopes is a crystal clear line that says  _ I want you to stay, but I know you need to go. “ _ You’ll only be outside, and I have Oakley here, just… be careful, will you? Because…”

 

“I’ll be back before you know it,” Nicole says softly, leaning down to press a quick kiss to Waverly’s cheek, freezing her in place, in the very best kind of shock. “You’ll come lock me out and then let me back in again?”

 

Waverly nods before following Nicole down the stairs with Oakley at their heels, Waverly’s constant shadow, just as Gus had said. They reach the hidden door, Nicole doing the honour of pushing it open, before they both breathe deep and peer out into the darkness. They can’t see anything, or at least Waverly can’t, and neither can Nicole, judging by the lack of reaction, and Waverly sighs a little in relief before Nicole turns to her with a frown. 

 

“I’m just gonna do a quick scout around the building, alright?” Nicole says calmly, drawing her weapon and checking it’s loaded in readiness for her to face whatever could possibly be out there waiting for her. “I’ll knock three times and say your name if everythin’s alright to let me back in.”

 

Waverly almost goes to ask her under which circumstances it wouldn’t be alright to let her back in before deciding she’s not sure if she actually  _ wants _ to know, biting her tongue instead. Nicole looks more reluctant now than she was before, looking heavily to Waverly’s slightly furrowed brow, leading Waverly to push her away gently. 

 

“Go. The sooner you do, the sooner you can come back,” Waverly offers sweetly, already planning exactly what they could do when she does, her mind playing image after image of Nicole’s hands on her hips and her lips  _ just _ glancing Waverly’s. 

 

Nicole nods firmly, leaving Waverly with one parting reassuring look before disappearing out into the dark of the night. She takes two steps before turning back to Waverly, gesturing for Waverly to close and lock the door, which, with great reluctance, she does. 

 

Waverly can  _ just _ hear the sound of Nicole’s boots on the dirt outside, the echo slow and calming before the steps become more and more distant. She waits a moment before walking to the front of the shop, smiling in relief when Nicole appears at the front window, gun raised, but fine. She does a small circuit of the area outside the shop before turning to shrug at Waverly, gesturing back to the other door and disappearing down the side of the shop again. 

 

Waverly walks quickly to meet her, smiling at Nicole’s three knocks and the sound of her name before pushing the door open with her hip in haste. Nicole appears in the door like a storybook vision, her long, loose hair swept roughly back off of her face. The unbuttoned collar and first two buttons of Nicole’s shirt do nothing to stop Waverly’s eye from settling there either, and it’s with an almost visible effort that she has to drag her eyes up and away from the sight. 

 

“You’re okay,” Waverly sighs a little in relief, drawing Nicole into the room and bolting the door behind her, smiling as Oakley winds herself excitedly around Nicole’s legs. 

 

“Fine,” Nicole beams at Waverly’s expression, happily taking a step toward the hand Waverly offers, outstretched. 

 

“Did you see anythin’ out here?” Waverly asks curiously, walking back up the stairs to her room before gesturing to the small table for Nicole to take a seat, which she does, sitting much closer in comparison to her seat across the table last night. 

 

“Not a damn thing,” Nicole grouses, running her thumb over Waverly’s knuckles. “No tracks, no noises, no nothin’. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say we were tryin’ to hunt a darn ghost.”

 

Waverly shivers subconsciously at the mention, the hair at the nape of her neck prickling like someone had stepped over her grave. 

 

“Everythin’ alright?” Nicole asks with a frown at Waverly’s reaction, and Waverly shakes her shoulders to rid herself of the fleeting spirit. 

 

“Fine,” Waverly says, softening her eyes again as the shadow retreats quicker once she feels Oakley’s soft weight settle over her feet. “I’m fine, sorry, Nicole. Just a little worried is all.”

 

“Would you prefer to sleep over at the Inn tonight?” Nicole asks, reaching for Waverly’s other hand, too, and she can’t help but glow at the small, but significant change in Nicole’s level of affection now that she knows she can touch Waverly. “I’m sure Gus wouldn’t mind if you wanted to…”

 

She considers it, honestly she does, but she makes the decision in her head swiftly enough. Because she might be scared, but she’ll be damned if she’ll let it rule or change her behaviour. 

 

“Thank you for the offer,” Waverly says carefully, doing her best to sound soothing, squeezing Nicole’s hands lightly in her own. “But I think I’ll stay. I’ll be alright here if I lock the door, and I’ve got Oakley, and I’m sure if I needed to, you’d hear me from across the road. But, if you think I should, then I respect your opinion, too, Nicole, and I’ll go.”

 

“I want what  _ you _ want,” Nicole says quickly, scooting forward in her chair a little. “And I’d much rather have you there where we can be in the same building, but I’m only…  it’s your choice, Waverly. You’ll be safe enough here, truly, I would insist on you coming over if I didn’t think you were, but… I’ll never tell you that you  _ can’t _ do somethin’, alright? So if you want to stay, then you’ll stay.”

 

She has to physically smother the urge to crawl across the table top and kiss Nicole for her thoughtfulness, for understanding the importance of Waverly having  _ independence _ , but she doesn’t want to push, not if Nicole hasn’t tried to replicate the almost-kiss before Oakley started barking, so she stays put and allows her eyes to fill with tears instead. 

 

“Thank you,” Waverly says finally, taking her lip between her teeth to calm herself a little. “Thank you for letting me choose. I know it’s silly, but I’ve been fretting for  _ years _ about losing that, and…”

 

“I’ll never take that from you,” Nicole says a little fiercely, loosening her hold on Waverly’s hands to demonstrate her point. “Never, ever, Waverly. Your life is yours. Yours to choose your own path, okay? And if I’m lucky enough to be on one of the ones you choose, then I’ve hit gold, but if not, then that’s fine, too, because your choice is more important than my own happiness.”

 

“I choose your path,” Waverly breathes, lifting one of Nicole’s hands to her mouth to press a light kiss there, watching with abject satisfaction as Nicole closes her eyes and shivers at the contact. “Our path. If you want that, too?”

 

“Never wanted  _ anythin’ _ more in my entire life, Waverly,” Nicole admits softly. “And I’d be honoured to walk it with you, if you’ll have me there.”

 

It’s only a small thing, no sweeping declaration of love, but it’s hope. It’s a future and it’s  _ Nicole _ , and in that moment, Waverly doesn’t think she’s ever been as happy, and judging by the look on Nicole’s face, she wonders if Nicole might just feel the same. Nicole’s hand closes around her own again, and Waverly’s heart lifts clean off the wall of her chest, and she closes her eyes for a moment, wishing to drink in as much of this night as she possibly can, winding the memory of Nicole’s hand in her own into her bloodstream. 

 

Nicole looks back to her with a similar expression to the one she thinks is fixed on her own features before Waverly yawns, and the weight of the day, and of the evening, too, comes crashing down around her feet. Something must flash behind her eyes, because Nicole grimaces before looking at her with a concerned frown.

 

“Are you sure everythin’s alright, Waverly?” Nicole asks quietly, looking over Waverly for some sign or signal that something isn’t. 

 

“I’m fine,” Waverly says, hiding her second yawn behind the palm she frees reluctantly from Nicole’s hand. “I’m just… It’s been a long day.”

 

She rubs her hand over the bruise on her other arm, the one still connected to Nicole’s, and she winces without thinking to hide the action, which, of course, beautifully attentive Nicole picks up on in an instant.

 

“Is your arm botherin’ you?” she asks with a soft, sympathetic breath, running her thumb over the edge of the bruise behind Waverly’s. “Is it painful? It’s okay to say if it is.”

 

“A little,” Waverly admits, and it’s not a huge pain, but there’s a dull ache somewhere deep in the tissue from being gripped so tightly that is just persistent enough to make her grit her teeth if she focuses on it. “It’s not terribly bad, though, just…”

 

“Can I make you somethin’ for it?” Nicole asks, her eyes brightening at the idea that she might be able to help. “Is there a tea you have on hand? Willow bark is good for pain, isn’t that what you said last night? I could brew you a cup if you tell me where it is?”

 

“Willow bark,” Waverly breathes in slight disbelief at Nicole’s recollection. “Did you…you  _ remembered _ . You remembered what I…”

 

“Of course I remembered,” Nicole frowns at Waverly’s response, seemingly unable to comprehend why she wouldn’t have. “It was… I mean, I might have forgotten one or two details, but everythin’ you told me about last night was fascinatin’, Waverly.”

 

And she knows Nicole is thoughtful, and she knows Nicole was listening last night, but there’s a difference between listening, and then remembering and  _ retaining _ information, and Nicole seems to have done all three, likely because she was interested, but more likely because it’s Waverly who was doing the talking. 

 

“I can’t believe you…” Waverly utters, still a little flawed, looking to Nicole with wide eyes before she shurgs a little shyly and continues. “I know it sounds daft, but people don’t listen when I talk once they’ve heard what they need to, and certainly not when they don’t. And to have you… It means a lot that you listened, Nicole. More than I can say.”

 

“I’ll always listen,” Nicole says, barely above a whisper, reaching forward to push a strand of Waverly’s hair behind her ear. “Even if it’s the number of boards in the ceilin’ above your head, I’ll always listen.”

 

Waverly drops her eyes to hide a blush that she’s sure will be bigger than any other she’s born across the space of the evening, before Nicole collects her beneath her chin, tipping her head up to look Nicole in the eye. “Now, willow bark for pain, was I right?”

 

“Yes,” Waverly affirms with a nod, smiling at Nicole, not sure how she’ll ever actually  _ stop _ . “Yes, you’re quite right. I have some in one of the small containers on the dresser, but you don’t have to… I mean, I’ll be just fine, or I can make it myself.”

 

“I don’t mind at all,” Nicole says sweetly, tilting her head to the side, and Waverly knows in that moment that she doesn’t. She really, really doesn’t. That she wants to do some small kind thing for Waverly in a way that so few people have ever done before. “Will you walk me through it? I’m sure I could manage, but I want to make sure it’s  _ drinkable _ , so…”

 

Waverly laughs, they both do, both blushing before Nicole moves to stand, walking over to where Waverly had indicated a moment ago, holding up the jar Waverly had pointed to last night when she’d been telling Nicole about it. “This is the one?” 

 

“Good memory,” Waverly sighs, setting her elbow on the table and placing her chin in her hand as she watches Nicole move around her room, so perfectly at home that Waverly could be forgiven for thinking she’d been there their entire lives. 

 

“What do I need to do?” Nicole asks with a wrinkled brow, the tip of her nose adorably scrunched as she holds the foreign object in her hand. “Set the kettle to boil, and then…?”

 

“Just put a little pinch of those leaves in the cup to steep in the boiling water,” Waverly says, smiling as she watches Nicole begin to attend to the task with unrivalled intensity. “And then bring it over to me.”

 

“That’s all?” Nicole asks curiously, looking to Waverly with a slightly amused smirk. “Well, not  _ all _ . I know it probably took you hours to make the mixture, but…gosh, I’m sorry, Waverly, that makes me sound like I don’t appreciate what goes into this at all.”

 

“You’re very sweet when you worry yourself about somethin’,” Waverly says a little forwardly, curious to see how her words affect Nicole, what her reaction is, before reaching for the steaming mug that Nicole offers her. “Did you know that?” 

 

“You think so?” Nicole asks, genuinely taken aback, her hands freezing in place around the mug when Waverly’s cover her own in the action. 

 

“I really do,” Waverly nods coyly, running her thumbs along the line of the delicate bones in Nicole’s hands. 

 

“I am sorry, Waverly, I didn’t mean to do a disservice to your…” Nicole offers, her voice a little quick with the panic that she might have offended Waverly with her comment. 

 

“I know,” Waverly says soothingly at Nicole’s half-sentence, her eyes kind. “I know you a little, you know? Not well, not as well as I’d like. Not as well as I hope I  _ will _ , but…”

 

She’s quiet for a moment, because all of a sudden she wants to show Nicole just how all _ in _ she is, because Nicole has been brave, Nicole has taken so many first steps for her, and Waverly wants to pay her back in kind. 

 

“Will you go on another date with me?” Waverly asks suddenly, looking up to Nicole with wide, hopeful eyes. “I want to take you home. I want to show you my home. I want to know everything, Nicole. If you want that, too.”

 

For a moment she thinks Nicole might cry or sob or something, because her face breaks into an emotion akin to pure joy, and she nods, biting her lip softly. 

 

“Yes,” Nicole replies simply. Beautifully. “I’d like that  _ very _ much.”

 

“You would?” Waverly asks, her voice relief-heavy, easing out her hard-held breath. “I mean…”

 

“Of course I would,” Nicole says with glassy eyes, reaching to cover both of Waverly’s hands around her mug. “I’d be honoured to go home with you, Waverly.”

 

“You would?” Waverly returns simply, not expecting the reaction from Nicole that she’s received at  _ all _ . Anticipating instead some halted reluctance or a flat out denial, not jubilant acceptance. 

 

“I would,” Nicole replies again, breaking out in a blush. “I think I’m gonna request to do a night shift tomorrow night, but maybe the one after? If that works for you?”

 

“I appreciate the sentiment, but there’s no way that invite is gonna change,” Waverly says confidently, playfully, holding Nicole’s gaze as she moves one of her hands from around her mug to run up Nicole’s forearm again. 

 

The goosebumps that break out in the wake of her hand are one of the loveliest things Waverly has ever seen in her entire life —satisfying, too— and she’s a half-second from scooting closer to Nicole when a sizeable yawn leaves her lungs. 

 

“You’re exhausted,” Nicole says kindly, taking her hands back so she can hold Waverly’s arm gently, running her fingers over the bruise again. “I really should take my leave and let you rest.”

 

“You don’t have to leave just yet. I’m not that close to sleep,” Waverly offers with a rushed breath before another yawn flows out between clenched teeth. 

 

“I think if I don’t, you’ll be asleep at this table in less than a few minutes,” Nicole laughs softly. She must see something in Waverly’s eyes she doesn’t quite mean to portray, though, because Nicole bends a little toward Waverly then, leaning in low. “Are you sure you don’t want to come across the road?”

 

“I’m sure,” Waverly replies, smiling at Nicole’s flawless thoughtfulness. “I’ll be just fine, and as much as I don’t want you to go, I think you’re right. I'm sure it’s not overly charmin’ at all to fall asleep in front you.”

 

“I think you’re plenty charmin’, Waverly Earp,” Nicole replies instead, with a tone in her voice that Waverly hasn’t heard from Nicole, and it takes her a moment to place it, but when she does, it sends a shock through her stomach somewhere deeper.  

 

_ Hunger _ , Waverly thinks to herself.  _ Want. I think that’s want.  _

 

“Well, I think you’re plenty charmin’ yourself, Nicole Haught,” Waverly says with a playfully shy sigh, because she doesn’t know how to do any of this, courting a woman, being courted by a woman, if that is what they’re doing now. 

 

But she knows she  _ wants _ it. 

 

Nicole looks to her, holding her gaze without breaking it for what feels like minutes, or maybe hours, before shaking her head with a smile. 

 

“If I don’t leave now, I don’t think I’m gonna,” Nicole says, reluctantly dragging herself away from the table a little. 

 

“I wish you didn’t have to,” Waverly means to say internally, but by the surprised and pleased look on Nicole’s face, she verbalises it, too. 

 

“So do I,” Nicole says, brushing off the front of her light trousers as she stands. “But imagine the gossip if I didn’t.”

 

The comment is meant playfully, but the insinuation, not of the town finding out, but of Nicole  _ staying _ , sends that line of lightning down Waverly’s belly again. Nicole takes it for the other, though, apologising before Waverly shakes her head. 

 

“I’m not worried about people findin’ out,” Waverly says, standing as well, a little distracted as her mind wanders elsewhere. “I promise, Nicole. Not that at  _ all _ , I’m…”

 

Nicole looks puzzled for a second before the realisation of what Waverly is referring to strikes her, and the blush already present spreads across her cheeks, down her neck, and to the small triangle where the top of her shirt is unbuttoned, deepening Waverly’s blush, as well. 

 

“Oh,” Nicole says simply, and the blush covering them both deepens. “You mean…”

 

“I’m sorry,” Waverly returns, jumping quickly to apologise. “I didn’t mean to…”

 

“It’s quite alright,” Nicole says once she manages her conscious thought a little better, regaining full control of her expressions before she lowers her voice, barely above a whisper. “If I could be so bold, my mind didn’t go somewhere  _ dissimilar _ .”

 

The lightning bolt cracks again, and Waverly balls her hands into fists for a moment at her sides, catching the way Nicole’s eyes flick to them. 

 

“I’m…I’m not sure how to do this. I know that I want to, but…” Waverly says shyly, balling and unballing her fists, because she wants this, but she doesn’t know the protocol. 

 

Because she’s never really done this ever, let alone with a woman, and she’s not sure how much she can say or do that isn’t crossing a line. But she needn’t have worried for a second, because before she can utter another slightly drawn syllable, Nicole sweeps in with strong arms to catch her. 

 

“I’ll show you everythin’ else,” Nicole says with a smile that’s warm, but it’s something else, too. “All you need is the  _ want, _ alright?”

 

And Waverly sighs in relief, because she wants this, she wants it, and that’s all that matters. Nicole can lead her gently through the rest, with their fingers intertwined, and their hearts, too. Waverly takes a step towards her, reaching for Nicole’s hand like it's something they’ve practised a thousand times with their eyes closed, as Nicole bends without thought, meeting Waverly mid-step. 

 

“I really should go,” Nicole says, taking a step back in the same breath, and Waverly can’t help but be a little disappointed, because they’d been leading to some kind of conclusion for the night before, and she feels like they’re on the precipice now, but Nicole obviously must not. 

 

Or she’s holding back for some reason. 

 

“Of course,” Waverly says, trying to school the disappointment out of her features. “Of course, I’ll see you out.”

 

And she understands, because the moment had mostly passed when Oakley had alerted them to whatever was outside, but Nicole’s right here, and they’ve talked now, they’re on the same page. But Nicole’s obviously not stepping forward for a reason, be it exhaustion, or the bruise on her arm and Champ’s shadow in the corner of the evening, or  _ something _ . And Waverly wants to respect that. Whatever it is. 

 

Nicole smiles gently, warmly, before bending down to pick Oakley up and press a little kiss to the top of the pup’s head and setting her back on her feet. 

 

“Goodnight, shadow,” Nicole says to Oakley affectionately, leaning to pat her one last time. “You take care of Waverly, you hear me?” 

 

Oakley yaps once, as if demonstrating that she understands, and both Waverly and Nicole laugh softly in reply. Nicole makes for the stairs in the second that follows, turning back to make sure Waverly is following her. They stop at the bottom of the stairs, and Waverly’s not sure how to proceed until the perfect thought enters her mind, and she reaches for Nicole’s hand. 

 

“Thank you,” Waverly says simply. Kindly. Her body flooding suddenly with light. “Thank you for comin’ here tonight. Thank you for talkin’ to me. Thank you for  _ trustin _ ’ me, Nicole. Thank you for… well, thank you for everythin’.”

 

“Thank you?” Nicole says, as though not quite able to comprehend what it is Waverly is saying. “Waverly, I think I should be thankin’  _ you _ for everythin’ you’ve done for me since I walked into town. Lettin’ me into your life, showing me kindness, and now…”

 

“You’re welcome,” Waverly says graciously, ducking her head and swinging their joined arms. “Will I…will I see you in the morning?” 

 

“Of course,” Nicole replies, her voice easy and her hand steady in Waverly’s own, taking a step, Waverly notes, towards her again. “You’d be the first person I’d see if I could. You  _ might _ be, if I beat Gus up before dawn.”

 

“I’d like that,” Waverly says coyly, moving towards the warmth of Nicole’s body. “I’d like that very, very much.”

 

“Good night, Waverly Earp,” Nicole bids her with a smooth silky note to her words as she steps finally away to push the door open, a sound that Waverly thinks she could get lost in. That she  _ is _ getting lost in. “I hope you sleep well.”

 

“And you, also,” Waverly says sweetly in return, pulling the door back for Nicole to take a step through. “And Nicole…thank you again for tellin’ me about Shae.”

 

Nicole stops still in place, halfway in her movement to turn towards the door. She turns her body into Waverly’s, placing her hand on the door just above Waverly’s left ear. She bends down and her lips brush the top of Waverly’s ear, and shivers break over every inch of her body, only more concentrated when Nicole finally speaks. “Thank you for listenin’.”

  
  


-

  
  


Euphoria.

 

That’s what snakes its way around her wrists and across the small of her back as she kneels on her bed, watching Nicole walk across the road back to the Inn.

 

Oakley sits on the foot end of her bed, curled in a small ball atop the soft blankets, once again, at Waverly’s relaxed demeanour, fast asleep. Nicole’s steps are steady and calm as they cross the road, although there’s a waver in her step, just before she pushes through the Inn door, when she looks up for Waverly at the window, and Waverly sees a flash of something less calm. 

 

Something more excited. Something, Waverly thinks, she can see still in the dead of night.

 

Regardless of whether she had or hadn’t kissed Waverly, Nicole, even in the dark of a new moon light, looks euphoric.

 

_ Hope _ , Waverly thinks calmly. Because Nicole likes her, because Nicole wants to show her everything, because Nicole told her everything, and she couldn’t have dreamed of a better reaction or ending to the evening if she had a thousand years ahead of her to ponder it through. 

 

-


	10. ten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnnd i'm back. And so is Nicole. 
> 
> This is a bit of an establishment chapter for Nicole in the happenings of the town, with a bit of wayhaught softness and some good Nicole cop-ing (that's Nicole being a cop, not copping a feel ;) ) so I hope you all enjoy. 
> 
> I also made myself a [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigerlo_) for fandom bits and bobs a few weeks ago so come and let me know if you enjoyed it there too if you'd like, or on [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com). 
> 
> Just a very quick reminder too, that if this isn't moving at the pace you'd prefer, or you're not enjoying it, you're more than welcome to click out of this wee tab at any stage.
> 
> Finally a very big thank you as always to @iamthegaysmurf for all her help with this. Now, onto the show!

**NICOLE'S POV**

**-**

  
  


The day feels brighter somehow when Nicole opens her eyes the next morning.

 

She wakes before the sun rises, stretching her arms above her head in a motion that makes her spine crack with relief before her breath comes out in a rush. Her heart feels buoyed today, and she still can’t quite believe she and Waverly actually had the conversation they’d had last night, because it feels almost too good to be true. Because they hadn’t continued to miscommunicate, they’d talked and listened and they’re  _ something  _ to one another now.  

 

Nicole’s not sure what yet, but they’re  _ something _ . 

 

And no, she doesn’t know exactly what that something is, but it’s okay, it’s  _ okay _ , because Waverly Earp isn’t interested in Champ Hardy, or anyone else in this town, man  _ or _ woman, she’s interested in Nicole Haught. 

 

She wishes so badly she could have finished their small, but significant impromptu date with a kiss, she really, really does, and she thinks Waverly had wanted that, too, if the disappointed look on her face when Nicole hadn’t followed through was anything to go by, but it just hadn’t felt  _ right _ . Because as much as she’d really wanted to, the whole night felt just slightly tainted by Champ Hardy and his damn manhandling, and she hadn’t wanted that milestone, them kissing for the first time, to be shared with anything as distasteful or horrible as that. 

 

So she’d settled on the second best thing instead, on trying to leave Waverly with a little reminder of what it would feel like when they did, and hoped that would be enough to suffice. For now. 

 

Until their next date, Nicole thinks. Their next date that Waverly has initiated. It would be the lie of the century if Nicole said she hadn’t been absolutely floored by Waverly’s invitation out to the homestead, because she’d already been planning a few ideas in her own head about how she might go about asking Waverly to spend another evening with her, but then the moon had changed, and Waverly had asked  _ her _ , and she couldn’t have been more thrilled. The gesture itself is sweet, but it’s more than that for Nicole, it shows how much Waverly wants this, how much she’s willing to step outside her comfort zone for Nicole, because she’d seen Waverly’s nerves loud and clear, but Waverly had asked her anyway. 

 

Waverly had asked her, and Nicole’s knees had almost gone weak, because never, in  _ any _ world, would Shae have asked her the same thing. Never, ever would Shae have put her heart on the line like that; she only ever waited for Nicole to do it first. 

 

_ I’m not like Shae, _ Waverly had said, and Nicole had known before, but she  _ knows _ now. She knows how different they are in every single aspect of their personalities, but in their courage, too; in their braveness. Because Shae was a church mouse most of the time, and that was fine, Nicole would never have asked her to change a thing, but Waverly Earp is a  _ lion _ , and Nicole loves her for it. 

 

She knows it’s early to use that word,  _ love _ , and she won’t until she knows Waverly is ready to hear it, but she already knows her feelings for Waverly run deeper and stronger than anything she’s ever felt in her life. It’s easy to drag herself out of bed this morning, because she knows what waits for her across the road, someone who wants to see Nicole perhaps as badly as Nicole wants to see her. 

 

The way Waverly had shivered when Nicole had touched her lips to Waverly’s cheek last night —a small consolation, but still something— had been extraordinary, and Nicole thinks she’ll remember the sensation for the rest of her life. That’s what draws her out of bed, swinging her legs over to the side before standing and stretching again, the feeling of Waverly’s body next to hers, close enough to touch. Close enough to…

 

There’s a faint glow over the horizon, but it’s some time before the sun will rise fully, and Nicole is worried she might have to wait and bide her time before calling on Waverly, but one quick glance out the window reveals a soft candlelight glow, and Waverly’s silhouette moving around the room slowly behind the drawn curtain. 

 

_ She’s awake _ , Nicole thinks, almost sighing in relief at the sight.  _ I wonder if she could feel me thinking about her.  _

 

Nicole takes her time getting dressed this morning, not wanting to appear at the front door earlier than Waverly might be ready to receive her. She draws on a clean pair of trousers and a shirt that Gus had washed and dried for her the day prior, before pulling her waistcoat on and wrapping Waverly’s bandana around her neck, as well. She tidies her room a little before finally taking herself downstairs. The front desk is, for one of the first times since Nicole started laying her head down upstairs, empty. 

 

There’s a delicious smell ebbing from the kitchen, though, so Nicole surmises that Gus must be preparing breakfast instead. A quick look into the kitchen confirms her thought, and she goes to give Gus a quick wave before stopping herself, not wanting to disturb the older woman as she concentrates, probably enjoying one of the small moments of peace she gets to experience during the day. She resolves to call back and pick some food up if she needs to a little later in the morning instead, the few bits of dried food in her satchel that Gus had given her the day before more than enough to tide her over until then. 

 

The air is crisp this morning, but Nicole doesn’t mind at all, breathing in the chilled surroundings with a gratifyingly half-awake sigh before walking the short distance to the front of Waverly’s shop, pleasantly surprised to see Waverly walking down the stairs with Oakley at her heels as she approaches. 

 

Waverly catches sight of Nicole the second she looks up from her feet when she reaches the bottom step, smiling widely in reply to Nicole’s small wave and walking smoothly over to the front door. She holds Nicole’s eye the entire time as she bends down to loosen the bottom bolt and reaches up on her tiptoes to release the top, so Nicole is a little breathless when Waverly finally does open the door. 

 

“Good mornin’,” Waverly offers, holding the door open, peering out behind Nicole for any sign of anyone else before leaning forward to tug Nicole by the hand into the shop. 

 

Nicole beams in response to the small show of affection, happily allowing herself to be pulled inside. Waverly takes a step back to accommodate Nicole’s entrance, but not one further, so when Nicole does move forward, she finds herself nice and close to Waverly. 

 

“Good mornin’ to you, too,” Nicole says happily, turning Waverly’s hand in her own and winding their fingers together. “Did you sleep well?”

 

“Very,” Waverly replies, nodding as she looks to drink in as much of Nicole as she can. Her eyes move over Nicole’s face with a soft relief, as though worried Nicole and last night might have been a dream, before returning the question. “You?”

 

“Surprisingly well, too,” Nicole answers honestly, because she’s surprised she slept at all with how full of light she was when she did finally return to the Inn. 

 

“Surprisingly?” Waverly asks with a furrowed brow, tilting her head adorably to look at Nicole. “What do you mean?” 

 

“Oh,” Nicole says a little taken aback, not having expected Waverly to ask why exactly. “Well, honestly? I think I was so happy, I wondered if I’d sleep at all, but I guess it put my mind at ease instead, and knocked me right out.”

 

“Oh,” Waverly replies, a blush falling over her cheeks. “You were happy, after…”

 

“‘Course I was,” Nicole says shyly, shrugging her shoulders, suddenly feeling a little on display. “Weren’t you?”

 

“Very much so,” Waverly replies with a smile, her eyes refocusing on Nicole. “I think it’s why I slept so soundly myself.”

 

That makes Nicole smile even wider, and she looks - properly looks - at Waverly for the first time that morning. Her hair is still down, such as her haste or distraction must have been this morning, and she’s wearing a different skirt today, similar, but a darker khaki, with a clean, cream-coloured shirt. 

 

“You look beautiful,” Nicole says easily, without actually stopping or thinking over the appropriateness of her comment.

 

“You think so?” Waverly replies with a deeper blush as she drops her gaze to their feet, obviously a little taken aback by Nicole’s comment. “I haven’t even done my hair yet, or…”

 

“It looks lovely down,” Nicole assures her, because it does, and she half-wishes Waverly didn’t have to tie it up to keep it out of the way during the day. “I like it like that very much, if I may be so bold.”

 

“I think you may,” Waverly returns coyly, looking up to Nicole again, a sweet pink covering her neck now, too. “Are you sure you do? Because once Champ saw it down, and he said I looked…”

 

“Champ Hardy is an asshole,” Nicole says a little fiercely, cutting Waverly off gently. “And he doesn’t know anythin’, alright? I know I’m not the fountain of knowledge in this big, wide world, but I know better than him, at least in this, and I think you look beautiful.”

 

“I don’t know how I’m ever gonna get used to this, you know?” Waverly replies with a sigh that Nicole can feel in her fingers, too. 

 

“Get used to what?” Nicole asks, her turn to be slightly puzzled as she looks to Waverly. 

 

“Havin’ someone say such nice things to me all the time,” Waverly says back, and Nicole’s heart twists in her chest because it kills her that Waverly doesn’t have someone in her life that shows her small kindnesses like this already. 

 

“Well, you’d best get used to it,” Nicole says easily, turning their hands over so she can draw small shapes on Waverly’s palm. “Because, I’m sorry to say, it’s only gonna get worse.”

 

“Worse?” Waverly asks, and Nicole can see her trying to suppress the shiver at Nicole playing with her hand. 

 

“Worse,” Nicole nods solemnly, but playfully, teasing Waverly a little. “Much worse, I’m afraid. Because now that I’m allowed to say things like that to you, I don’t know how I’m ever gonna  _ stop _ .”

 

Waverly looks lost for words for a minute, only able to smile a wide, awestricken smile back at her, but Nicole doesn’t mind at all. 

 

“Now,” Nicole says breaking the small moment reluctantly. “I’m afraid to say, as much as I’d far prefer to stay here for the rest of the day, I have to take my leave to see if I can talk Nedley into givin’ me a night shift tonight, so we can have tomorrow night to… so I don’t have to be worried about bein’ called in unexpectedly.”

 

“It’s fine,” Waverly returns airily, still distracted by the ghost of Nicole’s touch in her hand before she shakes her head to correct her attention. “I mean, I’d much rather have you here, too, but I understand. And I’d be terribly happy to have your company tomorrow night, but if you can’t…”

 

“I’ll be free,” Nicole says quickly, smiling easily at Waverly. “I promise, I’ll be free.”

 

“I was goin’ to offer to make you a cup of tea,” Waverly says sweetly, swinging her hands Nicole has since released to her side. “But if you  _ have _ to go, perhaps I can propose the offer later? Just in case you needed motivation to call again.”

 

“You know I don’t need a scrap of motivation beyond what you already provide,” Nicole says wryly, smiling down at Waverly looking up to her with a beautifully innocent expression. 

 

“Well, I didn’t  _ think _ so, but I guess it never hurts…” Waverly shrugs innocently, and Nicole can’t help but beam in return. 

 

“This mornin’?” Nicole asks, her voice hesitantly hopeful. “Later, I mean? If that’s not too soon? I can call again on my way back from callin’ on Nedley? I might swing past Mattie’s to see Lady Jane, but that’s about all. I’ll be right back here if you’ll have me after?”

 

Waverly is silent for a moment before her face turns in a frown, and Nicole isn’t quite sure what she’s said wrong until Waverly opens her mouth to speak. 

 

“Lady Jane?” Waverly asks curiously, delicately trying to keep the sound of mild hurt and confusion out of her voice. “Who is…”

 

Nicole laughs, and she knows she shouldn’t, but she can’t help herself, because it’s mildly hilarious, the thought that Lady Jane is anything other than Nicole’s horse. A brilliant, constant companion, and perhaps her oldest friend now, but still…a horse. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Nicole says apologetically, trying to soothe the frown on Waverly’s face, holding her hand when Waverly moves to take it from Nicole’s. “I’m sorry, Waverly, it’s just… Lady Jane is my…”

 

“Old friend?” Waverly interjects softly, her voice sad and a little worried. “An old…lover?”

 

“My horse,” Nicole says plainly, not wanting to cause Waverly any more undue stress. “Lady Jane is the name of my horse.”

 

Waverly blanches before blushing deeply, dropping her head before looking up to Nicole with a guilty look on her face. 

 

“Your horse?” Waverly asks, embarrassed, her blush only deepening. “Lady Jane is the name of your horse.”

 

“No old lover - or  _ recent _ lover - in sight, I assure you,” Nicole says soothingly. 

 

“I’m sorry, Nicole,” Waverly says with a clear look of regret. “I’m so sorry, I should never have assumed.”

 

“It’s quite alright,” Nicole replies earnestly, raising Waverly’s hands in hers. “I’m terribly sorry to have concerned you. Let me assure you, though, there isn’t another soul in my heart apart from you. I promise. Except for perhaps Oakley and Lady Jane.”

 

“You’re sure?” Waverly asks, her eyes soft and uncertain, and she knows it’s not Waverly’s distrust of her that’s driving the need to ask, it’s the lack of assurance from others in her life before Nicole. 

 

“More than,” Nicole says easily, trying to breathe some of her own confidence about the matter into Waverly through the point where their hands meet. “As sure as I am that there won’t ever be again.”

 

Nicole speaks the words without meaning to, really, and she’s terrified she’s overstepped the point beyond which Waverly might be comfortable speaking about, but one quick look to Waverly’s face assures her that there’s nothing at all to worry about, because Waverly looks like she might just leave the earth altogether if it weren’t for Nicole’s hand in her own. 

 

“You are?” Waverly asks softly, incredulously, her eyes and hopeful. “You really…”

 

“I am,” Nicole says smoothly, because it’s the simplest thing to admit surenesses like this to Waverly now, only a simple translation of what her heart already knows. 

 

Waverly looks like she’s about ready to kiss Nicole, or throw herself into Nicole’s arms or something, and Nicole isn’t sure she’ll have the self-restraint to stop anything now, not with how close Waverly is standing and how loud her own heart is in her ears, but a noise from outside causes them to move apart instead, Nicole dropping Waverly’s hands with a massive reluctance. 

 

“No such thing as to soon,” Waverly says with a shy smile, referring to Nicole’s earlier comment about calling in on her, before reaching discretely for Nicole’s hand, gripping tight for a moment. “If I had my way, you’d never leave at  _ all _ , so…”

 

“That so?” Nicole replies, raising an eyebrow and smiling at Waverly’s slight forwardness, buoyed, Nicole is sure, by Nicole’s revelation and Waverly’s newfound confidence in their connection. “Well, I wouldn’t either, just so you know. Maybe I should tender my resignation, in fact; spend the days here with you instead.”

 

“I’m sure you’d make a wonderful assistant,” Waverly beams at Nicole’s admission before letting Nicole’s hand drop to her side gently. 

 

“I’d be terrible, I think,” Nicole laughs a little, transfixed by the way Waverly keeps fixing her bottom lip between her teeth. 

 

“You would not,” Waverly scolds Nicole lightly. “I’m sure you’d be wonderful.”

 

“It would be to your own demise to test that, I’m afraid,” Nicole smiles, amused by the horrified expression on Waverly’s face. “My old Sheriff used to say he’d no idea how I was so graceful half the time, and so clumsy the other. Like I had two people in my body.”

 

“I guess it’s lucky you’re so darn adorable then, huh?” Waverly says nonchalantly, turning back with a smirk to gage Nicole’s reaction. 

 

“I think you’ll find you’re  _ far _ more deservin’ of that particular endorsement,” Nicole says sweetly, drawn closer to Waverly again by an invisible hand at her lower back. 

 

“We’re goin’ to have to agree to disagree on that point I’m afraid then, Deputy Haught,” Waverly says, smirking at the eyebrow Nicole raises in disbelief. 

 

Time suspends it’s eternal march for moment as Nicole looks past the front of Waverly’s eyes, somewhere much deeper, swallowing hard at the confidence she can see there, in Waverly’s feelings for her, and she could stay and watch all day long, until the sun sets and rises again, but she knows in order to do that tomorrow night, she has to leave now. 

 

“I have to…” Nicole says with as little weight as she’s ever heard in her own voice, because she  _ really _ doesn’t want to leave. 

 

“I know,” Waverly smiles easily, her own voice much lighter than Nicole’s reluctant one. “Later?”

 

“Later,” Nicole promises, nodding before looking over Waverly with a faintly dreamy sigh. 

 

She takes a step, crouching down to bid Oakley farewell also, sitting obediently at her master’s feet, before finally moving towards the door, her heart almost falling clean from her chest when she does so, because Waverly raises her hand to her mouth, blowing Nicole a perfectly subtle kiss, and Nicole’s heart  _ swells _ . 

 

Waverly gives her one last wink before pushing her from the shop with a gesture, and Nicole doesn’t lose her smile the whole walk to the jail. 

  
  


-

  
  


It’s quiet when she steps through the door, only Nedley there, obviously having just relieved the overnight deputy, which Nicole is immensely thankful for, given her desire to be here so early. 

 

“Haught,” Nedley says by way of a morning greeting, looking up to give her one quick nod before returning to whatever it is he’s looking over, thumbing through old-looking papers set in front of him. 

 

“Mornin’ sir,” Nicole returns with an inclination of her head. “Any news?”

 

“Not at all,” Nedley looks up to her and sighs, although Nicole thinks he looks slightly impressed at that being the first thing she asks. “You notice anythin’ odd last night?”

 

She’s about to say no, when Oakley’s little reaction springs to the forefront of her mind, and she opens her mouth to recount the story to Nedley. 

 

“Actually, sir, there might have been somethin’, although I couldn’t actually see anythin’ when I went out to look,” she says, watching his eyes flick up in interest. 

 

“Where were you?” he asks, abandoning the papers in front of him and giving Nicole his full attention. “What happened?”

 

“I was…” Nicole starts and then trails off, not sure how to proceed before recognising that honesty is probably better than a half-truth. “I was up at Miss Earp’s, sir, seein’ her home safe after bein’ out, and the pup I found for her a few days ago that we’ve come to learn is an exceptional measure of danger, was fine one minute, and then she just started barkin’ at somethin’ outside.”

 

“And?” Nedley asks her eagerly, his eyes hard and worried, but intrigued. 

 

“Nothin’,” Nicole says with a deep frustration, shrugging heavily. “I went and had a reasonably thorough scout outside, and I couldn’t see a damn thing. Couldn’t hear a damn thing, either, but I know Oakley must have seen somethin’. She doesn’t make a sound unless she thinks some harm is about to come to Waverly.”

 

“What time was this?” Nedley asks, scratching at his chin. “Early evenin’ or late?”

 

“Not late, but not early, neither,” Nicole replies with a frown. “Early enough that someone  _ could _ have been out, but late enough that most people wouldn’t be.”

 

“Did you have a look around this morning?” Nedley questions again. 

 

“A brief one, sir,” Nicole admits, because she had looked a little when she’d left the Inn, but honestly, her mind had been more on Waverly than anything else. “But I could definitely have another one, more thorough, if you’d like?”

 

“I think it’s probably not a stupid idea,” he grumbles before looking to Nicole. “What do you think, Haught? Or you think the night’s swept away any trace?”

 

“No, I think it’s always worth another look,” Nicole says in agreement of his idea. “You might turn up nothin’, but what if you don’t?”

 

“Exactly what I was thinkin’,” Nedley growls, nodding at Nicole’s answer. “You think you could do that sooner rather’n later? I’d imagine you’re eager to check on your horse, too, after your long day yesterday. Go and see her first if you want, but make it a priority after that?”

 

“Of course, sir,” Nicole says, nodding eagerly, almost forgetting the question she’d wanted to ask in the first place. “Actually, Sheriff, there was somethin’ I wanted to ask, if I could?”

 

“‘Course, Haught,” Nedley replies with a surprised look. “What is it?”

 

“I completely understand if not, but I was wonderin’ if I might be able to work the night shift tonight? I know I won’t be rostered on to a whole run for a while, but I’d like to do a night, just to see? And I kinda had plans tomorrow night, too, and I was hopin’ by doin’ tonight, I might have that off? Just in case I  _ was _ rostered on.”

 

Nedley looks like he wants to ask her a question before reason gets the better of him and he nods in reply. 

 

“‘Course, Haught. Jed is due to run things tonight, and I’m sure he’ll be more’n happy with the night off. I’ll make sure I’m here to walk you through things before we leave you to it,” Nedley says easily, and Nicole’s heart sighs in relief, the tension in her stomach relaxing in relief.  

 

“Thank you, sir,” Nicole says gratefully, nodding respectfully. “I appreciate the flexibility. And I promise it won’t be a regular occurance, it’s just…”

 

“Nicole,” Nedley stops her gently, raising his hand. “My people have lives, I understand that easily enough. You never have to feel like you can’t ask for somethin’ like that, alright? Besides, I’m glad to see you’re makin’ friends already after such a short time, too. I hope that means you’re plannin’ on stayin’ around here.”

 

“Thank you, sir,” Nicole replies with a soft smile, her pulse beating quicker at  _ my people, _ and the fact that Nedley clearly has some desire to have her stay here, because by some ridiculous happenstance, Nicole feels like she might just have found herself another family here in Purgatory. “Truly. And, you know, I think I will settle here awhile, sir. Seems to me like a fine place to put down roots.”

 

“Glad to hear it, Deputy. Now, I suppose you’d best be off to get yourself back into bed before long,” Nedley says, taking Nicole’s compliment before shrugging it off, clearly uncomfortable with the kind words. “Would you mind havin’ a look around first? Don’t worry about comin’ to report it back unless it’s somethin’ important. You can fill me in tonight if it’s not.”

 

“Absolutely, sir,” Nicole responds, the feeling of elation high in her chest. “I will.”

 

“Off with you, then,” Nedley says, shooing her out with a gruff smile. “And if you see any of the others, be sure to tell them to keep an extra eye out, too, alright?”

 

“Of course, sir,” Nicole nods quickly in agreement. “Absolutely. And thank you again.”

 

He doesn’t reply again, just waves her away, a motion she’s beginning to become fond of, because she’s noticed he seems to reserve it for her and one of the other men, not bothering to reply at all to the others, and she takes it for the fondness she thinks he means it as, however subconscious the gesture might be. She settles her hat on her head again as she takes the step down onto the Main Street, the flare of sun above the buildings beginning to bother her eyes. 

 

Worried for a moment, before realising that Mattie was probably up before her, Nicole turns and makes her way towards the stables, eager to check on her friend after their hard, hot, and totally empty-handed ride yesterday. They’d ridden for miles, visiting all the houses beyond the ones Nicole had been to the day before, and found nothing whatsoever, but Lady Jane had rode marvellously as always. She’d returned to Mattie’s defeated, exhausted, and running out of hope, before she’d made her way to the baths, where she’d found Waverly, to her obvious surprise. 

 

Mattie is sitting on the porch, smoking a cigarette, when Nicole makes her way up to the house, as if having known Nicole was on her way. “Mornin’, Deputy,” Mattie says cordially, standing out of her chair as Nicole approaches. “Glad to see you managed to drag yourself out of bed after that day of yours yesterday.”

 

“It wasn’t so bad, in the end,” Nicole returns with a half-smile that Mattie, in her immense perceptiveness, catches hold of immediately. 

 

“Sorted things out with Miss Earp then, did you?” Mattie asks with a wry smile, her grin only widening at Nicole’s look of shock. 

 

“Come on, Haught,” Mattie says, walking down to clap Nicole roughly on the arm. “You turned up here yesterday lookin’ like someone’d stolen your heart. It wasn’t hard to guess what might have set that gloom beneath your bed.” 

 

“Yeah,” Nicole replies a little reluctantly, her own smile getting away from her after a moment of trying to suppress it. “Somethin’ like that.”

 

“ _ Oh _ . That good’a reunion, huh?” Mattie says with wide eyes, jumping ahead to an incorrect conclusion that Nicole’s keen to steer her back from. 

 

“No,” Nicole corrects her hastily, shaking her head. “It’s not… we haven’t even… we haven’t even kissed yet, Mattie. It’s nothin’ like that at all.”

 

“But you’d like it to be,” Mattie says, a statement and not a question, her eyes amused at Nicole’s embarrassment. 

 

“‘Course I would,” Nicole says shyly, feeling her blush break down her neck as she tries to shrug off Mattie’s assumption. “But it’s not… it's more than that, Mattie, I…”

 

“Anyone with half a wit and eyes can see it’s more than that, Haught,” Mattie says with a laugh. “I’m just teasin’ you. Girl’s gotta get her kicks somehow out here, you know?”

 

Nicole gives Mattie a hard, but amicable, shove with her shoulder before Mattie laughs and begins walking them towards the stables. 

 

“Was she alright yesterday after she had a bit of water and a rest?” Nicole asks, her concern now with Lady Jane. “I was worried I’d worked her too hard, but I just… Christ, I just wanted to find them yesterday, Mattie.”

 

“I know,” Mattie says with an unusual softness, waiting at the door for Nicole to walk through into the barn ahead of her. “I know you did. And she was just fine. She’d run you to the ends of the earth, that horse, if you asked her to.”

 

“I know,” Nicole replies with a frown, reaching into her satchel for a sugar cube she’d managed to get from Gus the day before. “I know she would, that’s why I’m worried about her. Because she won’t gripe when I push her. I think she’d rather fall over than stop. It’s why I’ve gotta keep an extra eye on her.”

 

“You’re right, but she wouldn’t leave you, neither,” Mattie smiles, reaching across the gate of Lady Jane’s stall to rub her neck when they arrive. “She knows her limits, and yours, too, I think.”

 

“I’m a lucky girl to have you huh, Lady J?” Nicole coos, holding her hand out to the horse so she can pluck the sugar cube from Nicole’s fingers. 

 

“I think she’s mighty lucky to have you, too, Deputy,” Mattie says by way of a compliment. “Not so many people pay such a mind to their animals as you.”

 

“I don’t know why in damnation they don’t,” Nicole replies crossly, taking extra care to scratch between Lady Jane’s eyes. “Look at you, girl. How could they not.”

 

The horse nickers at the compliment, stamping her feet happily at the tone of Nicole’s voice she’s obviously come to recognise as being a positive one, and Mattie grins in reply. 

 

“See?” Mattie asks, turning to Nicole with a relaxed expression. “I think she’s just fine.” 

 

“Lucky for me, Lady Jane,” Nicole says to her horse gently. “Lucky for you, you get the day off, too.”

 

“You’re not ridin’ today? Mattie asks curiously, turning to Nicole with a frown. 

 

“I’m workin’ the night shift, so Nedley’s asked me to do a few things around town instead,” Nicole says in answer, running her palm down the column of Lady Jane’s neck as she speaks. 

 

“I thought Nedley normally waited a month or so before givin’ his men that shift when they start?” Mattie asks her perceptively while moving into the stall and looking down to check the horse’s legs and hooves in the morning light. 

 

“I asked for it,” Nicole replies, leaning down to watch Mattie’s movements. “I have… I have an engagement tomorrow night that I need to keep, and I didn’t want to risk bein’ called in, so I asked to have a night tonight in anticipation.”

 

“Engagement, huh?” Mattie asks, grinning suggestively when she stands upright. “Not with Miss Earp, is it, by chance?”

 

“Hush, you,” Nicole grumbles in reply, trying to hide the flush of mild embarrassment at being read by the other woman so easily. 

 

“I didn’t say a thing,” Mattie says, miming locking her lips while barely covering her smile. “On a serious note, though, I think it’s sweet. Gus said she’s scarcely seen Waverly so happy, since you found your way into town.”

 

“I’m glad,” Nicole says with a soft smile. “Truly, I’m glad. That girl deserves a world full of happiness for the start to life she’s had.”

 

“I couldn’t agree more, Deputy,” Mattie says kindly, her eyes flashing with lost love and regret. “She’s more deservin’ than most, in my opinion.”

 

“I hope I can… I’d like to think I could only build on that,” Nicole says, forgetting herself for a moment. “I’d like to try and give her everythin’, if I could.”

 

“And people say love like this is a sin,” Mattie scoffs before spitting in the dirt at the side of the stall. “Hell to the lot of them, I say. You go be happy, girl. And don’t let no one and their damn backwards opinion change that, alright?”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole replies seriously before casting her eye to the now risen sun. “I’m afraid I have to leave the both of you for now. I need to go and have a look around town, and a few other small chores before restin’ for the afternoon.”

 

“Off with you then, Deputy,” Mattie says with a wink, turning back to Lady Jane. “We’ll be just fine, the two of us, won’t we girl?” 

 

Lady Jane snorts her approval before pushing her nose against Nicole’s cheek when she extends her head over the gate of the stall. “Thanks for lookin’ after me, beautiful. You have a nice rest today, hmmm? If you’re good, Mattie might even give you a brush down.”

 

“First thing on my mind,” Mattie says, laughing as she holds the brush in her hand. “Now get out of here, Haught. Go find these assholes, will you?”

 

Nicole dips her head in a farewell, rubbing Lady Jane’s nose one last time before kicking the dirt with the toe of her boots on the way back out into the road. 

 

_ It’s warm here already _ , Nicole notes, wiping the sweat from her brow in an echo of her first day here, casting a wide look around when she hits the Main Street. The heat feels off today, though. Not hot and welcoming like it had been her first day, but different somehow.  _ Oppressive _ . 

 

She takes her time walking down the street, checking every which way for anything odd or out of place, standing in the middle of the road, watching people pass her by, before retracing her steps from this morning. She looks down every side street, looping around to walk behind the Inn, and crossing the road a few shops down before checking for anything strange behind Waverly’s shop, but there’s  _ nothing _ . Not so much as a smudge of black on any of the sides of the buildings. 

 

Nothing. 

 

But there can’t be nothing, there just can’t. Because people don’t go missing without a trace, no matter how much it might seem like they do. They don’t. They  _ can’t _ . There must be something. There  _ must _ be, she’s just missing it, she has to be missing it. Nicole just has to find it before it’s too late. Before anyone else…

 

The worry carries her down the street, only stopping completely once she sets eyes on the front of Waverly’s shop, sighing in sweet relief at Waverly leaning casually towards Chrissy Nedley, her elbow on the countertop with her chin resting on her upturned palm as they chat about something making Waverly smile wide like she does when she looks at…

 

_ Nicole _ . When she looks at  _ Nicole _ . 

 

As if feeling the object of her affection near, Waverly looks up, catching Nicole’s eye from across the street, and her smile, if possible, widens further. Nicole echoes the sentiment, her face aching with it, and she crosses the distance remaining between them without cognitive thought as to anything or anyone around them, only coming back to herself when she walks through the door of the shop. 

 

“Hi, you,” Waverly’s voice sounds like a summer bell to Nicole’s ears, cutting through the heat outside like a cool stream of water. 

 

“Hi, yourself,” Nicole returns, her eyes only for Waverly until Waverly hears her words settle against her skin - Nicole sees them still and  _ simmer _ there - before she turns to smile at Chrissy. “Afternoon to you, too, Miss Nedley.”

 

“Hi,  _ yourself _ ,” Chrissy says back with an equally bright smile, looking between Nicole and Waverly like the cat that stole the cream; like she knows  _ exactly _ why they’re so happy. “Good mornin’?”

 

“I’ve had worse,” Nicole replies playfully, moving until she can lean against the counter, within touching distance of Waverly. “And yourself?”

 

“Just fine, thank you kindly, Deputy,” Chrissy says amicably in return. “Just fine. Waverly here was tellin’ me about your plan for tomorrow night?”

 

“She was?” Nicole asks, a little surprised at Waverly’s blatancy, to which Waverly pales, before looking around and finding the shop completely empty, but for the three of them. She exhales in relief before turning back to Waverly with a look that says _ if you’re okay with talking about this in front of Chrissy, then I am, too.  _

 

“I was,” Waverly repeats, easing her worried jaw at Nicole’s accordingly relaxed stance, leaning towards Nicole across the counter. 

 

“Yes, she was,” Chrissy says a little sterner, before taking Waverly’s exposed forearm and holding it up in front of Nicole’s face. “And she was explaining away her bruise here, which she  _ assures _ me you know all about?”

 

“Unfortunately, yes,” Nicole returns with a frown. “And trust me, I’m about as happy with the fact that it’s there as you are. Perhaps even less, so.”  

 

“I’ve half a mind to pay a visit to Mr. Hardy, my damn self,” Chrissy growls, looking over Waverly’s arm carefully before her eyes flick to Nicole.

 

“I‘m fine,” Waverly says casually, trying to bat Chrissy away, turning to Nicole for some kind of support. “Won’t you tell her I’m fine?” 

 

“Waverly assures me she’s fine,” Nicole says pointedly to Chrissy before softening, because this isn’t Waverly’s fault, not one bit, so they shouldn’t be treating her like she should be making them feel better. “But she’ll tell us if she’s not, right? If there’s anythin’ we can do for her?”

 

“Of course I will,” Waverly replies gently, noting the change in tone in Nicole’s voice with a smile. “But I truly am fine, it barely hurts this mornin’.”

 

“Who the hell does he think he is?” Chrissy snaps, crosser than Nicole’s ever seen her before, about a handspan away from thumping her fist on the counter,  _ or _ against Champ’s cheek…

 

“I don’t know,” Nicole replies, looking to Chrissy. “Someone who won’t dare try that again the second I see him, or Wynonna does.”

 

“Oh, you can’t tell Wynonna,” Waverly says with a slight shake in her voice, looking between Nicole and Chrissy with a worried expression. 

 

“Why not?” Nicole asks curiously, turning to Chrissy with the question as well as directing it towards Waverly. 

 

“Because she’ll shoot him,” they both say in unison, and Nicole knows she shouldn’t, but she can’t  _ not _ laugh at the comment. Because she’s only met Wynonna once, but even from that small interaction, she doesn’t think Chrissy and Waverly are exaggerating one bit.

 

“Well, it won’t come from me, but your aunt’s bound to tell her the next time she sees Wynonna, isn’t she?” Nicole questions gently, balling her fists to stop from reaching for Waverly’s hand that’s  _ so _ close to her own. 

 

“More than likely,” Waverly grimaces, finding the reason in Nicole’s words, and Nicole thinks she sees Waverly’s hand twitch with the desire to reach for her, too. “With any luck, though, that won’t be for a day or two, by which time this will have faded a little, and it won’t look quite so bad.”

 

“He’s a real devil, huh?” Chrissy says, half-rhetorically, before blowing her exhale out through her teeth. “Anyway, enough of that nastiness. If you assure us you’re alright, Waverly, I won’t ask Daddy to dig us a nice deep hole.”

 

“Not that I don’t appreciate the offer, but I think it probably best not to get on the wrong side of the new law in town, don’t you?” Waverly says playfully, turning sweetly back to Nicole. 

 

“You wouldn’t want that at  _ all _ ,” Nicole replies dramatically, winking at Waverly before sliding down the counter just a fraction further towards her. “I hear she’s a real devil, too.”

 

“Well, I’ve heard completely contradictory statements, myself,” Waverly returns with an innocent shrug. “I hear she’s kind, and thoughtful, and very sweet…”

 

Nicole rolls her eyes at the compliment, but she can’t deny the warm swell it sets off in the pit of her stomach upon hearing Waverly speak like that about her. 

 

She looks around the shop and out the window, assuring herself that there isn’t anyone within a distance to catch sight of what she’s about to do, and it’s only simple, not dramatic or inappropriate, but the urge to take Waverly’s hand is too strong to ignore. She moves her hand across the counter, expecting to have to lean over a little to reach, but she doesn’t, because the  _ second _ she moves for Waverly, Waverly moves, too, meeting her half way. 

 

The relief when their skin meets is instant and heavy and light all at the same time, and Nicole can’t help but sigh just a little in response. 

 

“How is it that the perfect newcomer waltzes into town with eyes for you, Waverly Earp, and not me, huh?” Chrissy says ruefully, but Nicole knows there’s no malice in it, not at all, not when a smile stretches across her face at seeing the simple gesture of the two of them holding hands. 

 

“Guess I’m just lucky?” Waverly replies simply, shrugging before turning back to Nicole with an expression that makes her heart pull. 

 

“I think I’ll respectfully disagree, and argue that  _ I’m _ the lucky one here, Miss Earp,” Nicole says with a wink, smiling at the exasperated sigh Chrissy lets off in the background before turning to apologise. “Sorry, Chrissy, I’m sorry, it’s not…”

 

“Don’t you dare apologise for bein’ happy, Nicole Haught,” Chrissy says sternly, inclining her head towards the two of them. “I won’t hear it. The two of you deserve it more’n anyone else in this damn town, save maybe Wynonna. Besides, if I can’t find a love of my own, I guess I’ll just have to live through yours.”

 

“Well, any other day that’s fine, although I have to insist on leavin’ you behind when I take Nicole out to the homestead tomorrow night,” Waverly replies, smiling to Nicole before winding their fingers together. 

 

“Maybe next time?” Chrissy jokes, her eyes turning down to their joined hands with a look of longing. 

 

“Of course,” Nicole says with sincerity, nodding in a way that brings a smile to Chrissy’s face, just as she had hoped. 

 

“So what are the two of you gonna do out there, then?” Chrissy asks curiously, tilting her head in question. 

 

“This and that,” Waverly says a little vaguely in reply, and Nicole looks to her with a face as curious now as Chrissy’s is. 

 

“No clues, huh?” Chrissy asks, narrowing her eyes at Waverly. “Not a one?”

 

“Well, not with Nicole right  _ there _ ,” Waverly answers with a slightly breathless laugh. “Then it’d spoil the evening, wouldn’t it?”

 

“I don’t think anything you do could spoil the evening’,” Nicole says kindly to Waverly, grinning at the way her eyes light with the compliment. 

 

“You know what?” Chrissy starts before a frown appears on her brow. “I take it back. Be a little less happy, won’t you? You’re makin’ me feel even more envious than I was before.”

 

“Sorry, Chrissy,” Nicole says genuinely, releasing Waverly’s hand to turn to their friend. “I’m sorry, truly. I’ll keep it to a minimum, next time, alright? Besides, I’d best be on my way for now, anyway.”

 

“Oh, you don’t have to leave already, do you?” Waverly asks, reaching for Nicole’s hand again with a note of disappointment in her voice. 

 

“I arranged to take the night shift for tonight,” Nicole says, trying to keep the regret out of her own voice, because she knows it’s for the best, that having to part now means they get the whole evening together tomorrow, even if it feels like a terrible decision at the moment. 

 

“You’d best be off to rest soon then,” Chrissy says with the knowledge held of watching her father doing the same thing for years. “Daddy always has a better night if he can find sleep before midday.”

 

Not for the first time, Nicole is struck by the casual ease with which Chrissy seems so observant to things around her, seemingly subconsciously even, and it serves to remind her that she'd like to ascertain a way of helping Chrissy somehow make use of these talents, resolving perhaps to talk to her father about it this evening. 

 

“I’m not sure how I’m gonna find it, if I’m honest,” Nicole replies with a frown to Chrissy. “I feel as wide awake as I’ve ever been.” 

 

“Oh,” Waverly says suddenly before disappearing down the back of the counter, reappearing with a smile a few seconds later. “I can help with that, at least.”

 

“You can?” Nicole asks with a surprised and slightly amused smile at the happiness on Waverly’s face. 

 

“I can,” Waverly repeats, placing a small phial of clear liquid between them on the counter. 

 

“What in good graces is that?” Chrissy asks with a hesitant note, leaning forward to inspect the bottle. “Some kind of sleepin’ draught?”

 

“It’s only light,” Waverly assures Nicole softly, turning to answer her unasked question. “Nothin’ to take you into too deep a sleep, just somethin’ to help you clear your mind so you can find it to rest a little before tonight. It won’t make you feel anythin’ once you wake up, not like some of the others I’ve got, but you don’t have to take it if you don’t want to, I just thought…”

 

“That’s very kind of you,” Nicole says softly, brushing her fingers purposefully across Waverly’s when she moves to take the proffered phial. “I’d be happy to try it.”

 

“I know some people don’t like to have… you know that you don’t  _ have _ to take it just because…” Waverly stammers a little uncertainly before Nicole fixes her with a look that says  _ I trust you  _ and  _ I want to.  _

 

“I might have to ask Gus to come and rouse me,” Nicole says with a wink. “If this is as good as everythin’ else of yours I’ve had, I might need the wake up call.”

 

“It’ll only work for a few hours,” Waverly replies gently, her eyes following Nicole’s hand as they tuck the phial into the pocket of her trousers. “So you shouldn’t need to if you take it shortly, just as it is. You don’t need to mix it with water or tea or anythin’ else.”

 

“Thank you, Waverly,” Nicole says sincerely, casting her eyes around one last time to check for onlookers, before raising Waverly’s hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. 

 

It’s bold, she knows it’s bold, but it’s so important to her in that moment that Waverly know  _ exactly _ how much faith she has in Waverly and her abilities, that she trusts her, that she’s immensely thankful for any part of it that she’s able to share with Nicole herself. 

 

“ My pleasure,” Waverly breathes in return, her cheeks glowing a faintly pretty pink. “It’s my pleasure, Deputy.”

 

“Don’t make me respectfully disagree with you again, now,” Nicole winks playfully, releasing Waverly’s hand slowly. “I really should get mo vin’, though. I want to head down to Shorty’s before I retire, to inquire around about…well, you know.”

 

She trails off, not wanting to draw any more attention toward the disappearances, and not wanting to distress Waverly or Chrissy in any way, either. 

 

“Good time of the day to try there,” Chrissy says, nodding at Nicole’s plan. “You’ll find half the men in town there having a drink or a meal if you go now.”

 

“Is that so?” Nicole asks, highly interested at Chrissy’s additional observation. “Well, in that case, I’ll…”

 

“Call by on your way to the jail this evenin’?” Waverly asks hopefully, her eyes drawing Nicole in. 

 

“If you’re not sick of the sight of me, of course I will,” Nicole smiles in return, and she’s amazed at the difference it makes, not having to hide her raw feelings for Waverly anymore, what a  _ weight _ it is off her shoulders. 

 

“As if she’d ever be sick of the sight of you,” Chrissy interjects with a wry smile. 

 

Nicole beams at the compliment, looking to Waverly one final time before inclining her head in farewell. 

 

“Sleep well,” Waverly says sweetly, tilting her head to the side in that soft way that makes Nicole’s heart skip and threaten to stop in her chest. 

 

“I’m sure I will,” Nicole answers easily, tipping her hat back onto her head. “Later?”

 

“Later,” Waverly affirms, her reply warming the palms of Nicole’s hands when they fall back to her sides. 

 

She throws Chrissy one last nod, too, before turning and making her way back down the Main Street, only relenting once and looking back to Waverly’s shop. 

 

It doesn’t take her long to make it to the saloon at all, and she’s not sure why she’s filled with a hint of reluctance before walking in, but she is, so she pauses for a moment with her hand on the door, taking a steadying breath in just as she enters. It’s gloomy in here, and busy, just as Chrissy had said, the air heavy with smoke, and it takes her eyes a second to adjust before she makes her way down the step into the main part of the saloon towards Shorty himself. 

 

“Good afternoon, Deputy,” Shorty offers cordially, leaning across the bar to shake Nicole’s hand. “What can I get for you today?”

 

“I’m not after a drink, though I thank you kindly for the offer,” Nicole says politely, nodding with respect before straightening up again. 

 

“Serious business then?” Shorty asks, his tone growing a little more grave. “The Sheriff came in day before yesterday askin’ about the women missin’.” 

 

“That’s exactly why I’m here, I’m afraid,” Nicole confirms, nodding again. “Nedley's requested I do another ask around town, see if anyone’s noticed anythin’ new the last few days?”

 

“I haven’t seen nothin’ myself,” Shorty replies, frowning before looking around the saloon. “Not a damn thing. And nobody that’s come in here’s said anythin’ beyond that they wish they knew where the heck those women had gone to, either.”

 

“And you haven’t seen anyone you’ve never seen before?” Nicole asks with one last push before resignation sets across her shoulders again. “No one new or unusual, nothin’ out of place, no one actin’ strangely?”

 

“I count myself a reasonably good judge of character, and a good eye for every person in this town, and I haven’t seen nothin’, Deputy,” Shorty says regretfully. “I almost wish I had, so I could offer you some help, but I haven’t.”

 

“That’s alright, Shorty,” Nicole replies with a sigh. “I appreciate you keepin’ an eye out, nonetheless. And I know the Sheriff does, too.”

 

“‘Course,” Shorty returns, looking pleased with the compliment. “Happy to help in any way I can. You’ll be sure to let me know if you’re in need of anythin’ else now, won’t you?”

 

“I surely will,” Nicole says with a smile, more than a little appreciative at his offer to help. “Thank you, Shorty.”

 

“Any time, Deputy,” Shorty says, giving her a quick wink. “You’re more’n welcome to go round and ask folks yourself, if you want? Just in case you’re able to get somethin’ out of ‘em they haven’t mentioned to me.”

 

“I might just do that,” Nicole replies, nodding as she looks around the room. “If it’s not too much of a hassle, and I’m not gonna drive folks away?”

 

“To be honest, I reckon people’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you might have if they, and you, think it’ll help,” Shorty says with a sigh, dropping his hands onto the bar. 

 

“I won’t be long,” Nicole assures him, scooping her hat up off the counter, her eyes already travelling around the room, looking for her first point of contact. “I’ll be gone before you know it.”

 

Shorty gives her one last smile before turning to tend to another customer, and Nicole allows her eye to move around the room again. There are a few men in small groups, so she starts with them first, asking a few easy questions, watching for their reactions and body language as much as their answers, but they don’t appear to have anything of value to add to the information she already has in her head. 

 

Nicole turns her attention to a few other solitary figures around the room next, but the answers to her questions are still the same: they haven’t seen anything strange or out of place, they don’t know anything. Nothing. In fact, if anything, things appear to have been quieter than usual, with little to no trouble in town at all. 

 

She’s about to give up and head back to the Inn to rest when movement in the far corner of the saloon catches her attention, and her eyes find Champ Hardy and the two York boys curled around a large, otherwise empty table, taking up significantly more space than they should. They must have come in since she started talking to folks around the room, Nicole surmises, because there’s no way her eyes would have missed them if they’d been here to begin with. 

 

The noise coming from their small group is, unsurprisingly, obtrusive and rude and much louder than anyone else in the room, and she catches Shorty frown in their direction briefly before tucking her thumbs into her belt and making her way over to them herself. She catches the end of what sounds like  _ should have seen her face _ and  _ reckon I should just have taken it, she’s almost mine anyway  _ before the York boys dissolve in rough, ugly laughter, as she makes her way over to their table. 

 

Champ looks at her pointedly before turning back to the other boys, ignoring her completely, so she has to clear her throat before they actually pause their conversation and look at her. 

 

“What do you want, Deputy?” Champ sighs, taking a messy swig of his whiskey before narrowing his eyes at Nicole. “We aren’t doin’ anythin’ wrong, are we boys?” 

 

“Yeah,  _ Deputy _ ,” one of the boys jokes derisively before they all dissolve into obnoxious laughter again. “We’re just mindin’ our own business, nothin’ you can tell us off for. Champ here’s just tellin’ us here how close he is to baggin’ his girl, right lads?”

 

Nicole’s blood runs cold at that, because she’d known that was the  _ she _ Champ had been referring to, but to hear one of them say it makes her feel sick. 

 

“Your conversation is your own, but manhandlin’ women is another thing, Hardy,” Nicole says with as strong a voice as she can manage without letting her anger seep in. 

 

“That all women, Deputy, or just the ones you’re tryin’ to court yourself?” Champ says boldly, tipping his chin upwards in Nicole’s direction. 

 

“You’ll do better to mind your manners when you’re speakin’ to a Sheriff’s deputy, Mr. Hardy,” Nicole replies coldy, trying desperately to keep her own temper in check. 

 

“Hit a nerve, did I?” Champ parries, his eyes light with the knowledge that he’s found something sensitive. “Anyway, what business is it of yours who I touch, Deputy? Last I checked, we didn’t have to run courtships in this town past the Sheriff. If we do, though, I’ll do so gladly. I’d love to see the look on your face when I bring Waverly Earp in on my arm. Willing or not.”

 

“That’s not a joke, Hardy,” Nicole says with steel on her tongue, because she hadn’t wanted to descend to his level, to argue with or threaten him, but she will, if that’s what it takes. “As a deputy of the law, I’m tellin’ you that you’d best not be forcin’ yourself on any more women, or I’ll drag you down to the jail myself.”

 

Her words seem to hit a nerve with him this time, and the legs of his chair screech across the wood when he scrambles to stand and set himself on Nicole’s level, broadening his shoulders in a childish attempt to make his shape look bigger. 

 

“Is that a threat?” Champ spits, balling his fists at his side as he steps up into Nicole’s personal space. “You think you can take me?”

 

His anger doesn’t bother Nicole, she doesn’t flinch away, much to his disappointment, she thinks. She just stands her ground instead, meeting his eye evenly. 

 

“I do,” she says calmly, her gaze following the furious tremble of his entire body as she holds her own position with a perfect stillness. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

 

Nicole senses his body about to move and take a step back, whether to take himself away or prepare to hit her, she’s not sure, but she readies herself to defend a blow or whatever he thinks he’s about to try and do, when the saloon doors swing open loudly, and Curtis comes through them, looking around the room before sighting Nicole. 

 

He raises his hand in an amicable hello before moving towards the bar to greet Shorty, his eye trained on her and Champ in the corner of the room. 

 

Nicole feels, rather than sees, the air leave Champ’s overextended chest in the second that follows, his eye obviously fixed on Curtis, too. He shrinks back, grabbing his drink roughly and downing it in one gulp before pushing roughly past Nicole, the York boys following him like stray dogs. 

 

“This isn’t over,” Nicole hears him spit over his shoulder, the boys sniggering beside him as they leave the saloon, and it’s only then that she releases her breath, unclenching her own fists at her waist. 

 

She isn’t scared of him, lord knows she’s met and dealt with worse men in the world than Champ Hardy, it’s Waverly that Nicole is worried for in the end. Because he isn’t likely to take out his anger on or around her directly; she knows he’s much more likely to take it out where he knows he’ll cause Nicole the most pain. 

 

On Waverly, instead. 

 

She’s tempted to go after him, to drag him down to Nedley for general disobedience, but she knows that’ll only make things worse, that  _ that _ would only provoke his anger more, in the end. Instead, she takes a few steadying breathes before walking back over to the bar to apologise for any disruption she might have caused Shorty. 

 

“You alright there, Deputy?” Shorty asks her with a concerned frown. “Everythin’ okay?”

 

“I’m sorry, Shorty,” Nicole says quickly, rushing to apologise. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble, he just… he overstepped a line, and it wouldn’t have been right of me not to call him on it. I understand if you’d like me to…”

 

“It’s more than alright, Deputy,” Shorty reassures her with a friendly smile. “We all know what that Hardy kid is like. You did well to stand your ground.”

 

“Thank you, sir,” Nicole nods, appreciative of the compliment, particularly given she had been expecting the first thing to come out of Shorty’s mouth might be an order to leave. “I am sorry.”

 

“Don’t let him get the better of you,” Curtis offers Nicole with a kind voice, clapping his hand on her shoulder. “Lord knows he’ll try, but he’s just not worth it.”

 

“It’s worth it if it’s Waverly he’s threatenin’,” Nicole says partly under her breath, but the others hear it regardless. 

 

“He  _ what?” _ Curtis asks gruffly, looking after the door, as if of a mind to chase Champ himself. 

 

“Not exactly,” Nicole replies, trying to explain herself without letting her anger disrupt her. “Seems he feels he can take something he thinks is already his, and I just corrected his misguided impression.”

 

“Christ, I’ve half a mind to make him see sense myself with something stronger than words,” Curtis says in the first show of anger or frustration Nicole’s seen from him since meeting him a few days ago, finding herself reassured by the fact that he seems as bent on ensuring Waverly’s safety as she is. 

 

“I don’t need to remind  _ you _ that it’s not worth it to pick a fight with that boy, do I?” Shorty says to his friend with a smile, before shaking his head. “Anyway, let’s not waste anymore breath on that problem. Did you happen to find anythin’ talkin’ to anyone, Deputy?”

 

“Not a thing,” Nicole sighs in disappointment, trying to let her frustration over Champ drop from her fingertips so she can focus on where the frustration should be directed. “I’m startin’ to wonder if I’m doin’ somethin’ wrong. Unless people really do disappear into thin air.”

 

“By all accounts, I think you’re doin’ a fine job,” Curtis says, smiling warmly at her. “Everyone I’ve spoken to’s said how it’s makin’ everyone feel a little more at ease knowin’ you’re on your guard lookin’ for those ladies so diligently.”

 

“Really?” Nicole asks quietly, and she’s not one to hunt for compliments, ever, but she can’t deny it’s nice to know the town doesn’t think she’s completely useless. 

 

“Really,” Shorty affirms, agreeing with his friend, nodding to Nicole. “You’re doin’ a good job, Deputy. Just don’t give up, alright?”

 

“Never,” Nicole says quickly, shaking her head, dismissing the idea immediately. “I’d never dream of givin’ up, not until we know their fates, whatever they might be.”

 

“Atta-girl,” Shorty says before pouring Curtis a drink. “You sure I can’t offer you a drink? Lord knows you’ve just earned one. Might help to steady yourself before you leave?”

 

“Thank you for the offer, but I should get on my way,” Nicole replies, trying to convey how much she appreciates the gesture. “I’ve asked Nedley for the night shift tonight, so I’d best try and get some rest before it.”

 

“Boy, you’ll have made someone’s day, givin’ them the night off,” Curtis says, smiling broadly. “Make sure you stop in and get Gus to make you somethin’ before you rest, and to take with you for tonight.”

 

“I don’t want to trouble her,” Nicole says hesitantly, but Curtis is already shaking his head. 

 

“No trouble, Nicole, none at all,” Curtis returns kindly, reaching to shake Nicole’s hand, and the use of her first name makes her feel warm. “‘Specially if you’re out here defendin’ our Waverly’s honour against that hound in the background of dealin’ with this other trouble.”

 

“I’ll ask, if I remember,” Nicole says with a shy shrug, reluctant to put Gus out at all, regardless of whether she’s helped Waverly or not, because she’s more than happy to do whatever it takes to defend Waverly, willingly and without reward. 

 

“Make sure you do,” Curtis says pointedly, narrowing his eye like he knows that she has no intention of bothering Gus at all. 

 

“I’ll see you later, sir,” Nicole replies respectfully instead, giving Shorty a nod of farewell, too. “And my apologies again, Shorty.”

 

Both men wave her goodbye before Nicole makes her way for the door. She takes a step outside, her eyes spinning white for a moment as she adjusts to the vastly different light source. She takes a long, grounding breath, closing her eyes and drinking in the late morning sun before opening them again. 

 

Her gaze, whether by design or some unfortunate coincidence falls on Champ and his companions walking into one of the shops across the way. He doesn’t lay eyes on her, thankfully, but it makes her blood boil again, even seeing him from a distance, his words about Waverly still sitting like poison in the bottom of her stomach. 

 

She finds her feet taking her to Waverly’s shop without directed thought, the walk disappearing somewhere into a half-conscious blur until she sets foot inside the bright white front room. Her pulse settles immediately, her racing heart quieting completely in Waverly’s presence, and Waverly looks up from measuring whatever herbs she has in a number of small bowls in front of her, sensing Nicole’s nearness again. 

 

“I wasn’t expectin’ to see you so soon,” Waverly beams the second she sees Nicole, ducking beneath the counter to greet her in the absence of anyone else in the shop. 

 

“Nor was I,” Nicole admits with a shy smile, shrugging, taking a step closer to Waverly whose hair is pushed messily up off her forehead, but with a series of lose strands falling beautifully around her face. 

 

“Is everythin’ alright?” Waverly asks, frowning at whatever small thing must be off about her demeanour. “Did you… have you found…”

 

“No,” Nicole hurries to reassure her, taking Waverly’s hand softly into her own. “No, nothin’ like that at all, I promise.”

 

“But somethin’ else happened?” Waverly asks softly, perceptively, her thumbs soothing over the flat of Nicole’s palms. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

 

“It’s nothin’ to worry about,” Nicole says softly, not wishing to worry Waverly more than she already has. “Nothin’ at all, I’m not sure why I’m feelin’ a little uneasy, I just had a conversation with Champ Hardy at the saloon.”

 

“You did?” Waverly asks, blanching a little, and it makes Nicole want to hit him all over again, hating the reaction just hearing his name causes in Waverly. “What about?”

 

She thinks about telling Waverly a smaller version of the truth, not wanting to cause her anymore distress, but changes her mind, settling on the thought that the truth, and not keeping anything from her, is the more honorable route to take. Because Waverly Earp can handle far more than people give her credit for, and Nicole won’t assume anything less than her highest point of strength, ever. 

 

“About you, unfortunately,” Nicole says, choosing her words carefully. “Nothin’ you’d done of course, he just… he made an inappropriate comment, and I couldn’t let it go unchecked, but it resulted in a… shall we say, a conversation between the two of us.”

 

Waverly grows a little paler for a second before she seems to find strength in Nicole’s hand in her own, looking to Nicole with something that might be awe. 

 

“You defended me?” Waverly says quietly, her expression soft as she looks to Nicole with clear eyes. 

 

“Of course I did,” Nicole says smiling down at Waverly gently. “I’ll always defend you, Waverly.  _ Always _ . Without exception.”

 

Waverly takes a deep breath, closing her eyes for the length of a heartbeat before looking up to Nicole again, and Nicole thinks she sees something deep there, beyond Waverly’s simple thanks, something that sits further in her chest, hidden beneath her ribs. 

 

“You’re…” Waverly starts before her eyes turn a little glassy, and she shakes her head, trying again. “Thank you, Nicole. It’s… to have someone who just… _thank_ _you_.”

 

“It’s what I’m here for,” Nicole says simply, because she is. To be Waverly’s companion and friend and protector, too, not that she  _ can’t _ defend herself, but because she shouldn’t have to do so alone all the time.

 

It’s the middle of the day, and anyone, including Champ himself, could walk past at any second, and Nicole knows they should be more careful, but that doesn’t matter, not in this instant. None of it does. All reason suspends itself beautifully, because Waverly Earp folds herself into Nicole’s arms, and Nicole finds  _ home _ . 

 

“Thank you,” Waverly says again, only this time the vibration from her voice makes its way through the wall of Nicole’s chest, to her heart, and Nicole feels changed from it. 

 

Waverly’s hands slide around her waist, tying themselves together in the middle of Nicole’s lower back, and Nicole can’t stop the small contended hum that escapes when her chin comes to rest softly atop Waverly’s head. 

 

“You’re welcome, Waverly,” Nicole says softly, her arms draping as unobtrusively as possible over the shorter girl’s shoulders, holding Waverly close, rocking them both slightly where they stand together. 

 

She feels Waverly sigh heavily against her again before she takes a step back, extricating herself from Nicole’s body, her hand finding Nicole’s, reluctant to break their contact entirely. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Waverly says a little shyly, her eyes moving down to where their fingers intertwine. “I know we probably should be…”

 

“It's alright,” Nicole replies with a reassuring wink, checking out the corner of her eye for any onlookers discreetly and finding none. 

 

“I don’t wish you to think me careless,” Waverly says carefully, following the line of Nicole’s eye outside the shop. “I know we need to be careful most of the time, and I know you know that, too, but sometimes it’s more important…it’s worth the risk to reassure one another, don’t you think?”

 

Nicole nods, touched and impressed, both by the depth of Waverly’s understanding, but also her willingness to flout the rules for the sake of comforting each other, something she knows Shae would never risk, and did never risk, even at times when Nicole needed her to. 

 

“I do,” Nicole replies, smiling at Waverly with something akin to pride in her voice. “I agree completely.” 

 

Waverly drops her head, looking to Oakley who has moved off her daybed to wind herself around Waverly’s feet. 

 

“I’m sorry you had to defend me,” Waverly says apologetically, looking a little embarrassed. “I wish I’d never given him the time of day to begin with, I just thought… I thought it might help… I thought it would make him lose interest, if he saw how little interest I had in him, but it only seems to have made things worse.”

 

“Try not to worry about him,” Nicole says, reaching forward to tuck a strand of Waverly’s hair behind her ear, smiling when she moves into Nicole’s touch. “I have a feelin’ he would have continued pursuin’ you regardless, Waverly. I don’t think there’s anythin’ you could have done to dissuade his interest.”

 

“He can’t do anythin’ can he?” Waverly asks with a slightly uneven voice, the fear there easy for Nicole to read. “I mean… he doesn’t have a claim over…”

 

“He can’t do anythin’, Waverly. I promise you, alright?” Nicole replies with a conviction and strength in her voice that she wants Waverly to hear loud and clear. “You’re your own person, okay? Neither he, nor anyone else can take your freedom away from you.”

 

She had come here to calm herself down, to reassure herself of the notion that Waverly was here safe. She hadn’t planned on needing to reassure Waverly, too, but she finds it does a better job of calming her than anything else, being strong for Waverly’s sake. 

 

“I’m my own person,” Waverly says quietly, looking to Nicole with a small glint of something  _ special _ in her eye, something that makes her smile a little deeper. “I’m my own person, but I’m yours, too.”

 

It makes Nicole’s heart skip and her pulse falter, to hear Waverly state such a thing so plainly, and she finds herself struggling with a response for a moment before her words come to her with a crystal clearness. 

 

“As I am yours,” Nicole says with a simple smile, watching the way Waverly’s eyes glow in reply. “If you’d have me?”

 

“Never been anythin’ I’ve wanted more,” Waverly says sweetly after a moment, leaning back to rest against the counter between two of the high stools. “I’m keepin’ you, though, aren’t I? You need to go get some rest.”

 

“I’m more than alright for the moment,” Nicole replies with an easy shrug. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

 

“I’m fine, I promise you, Nicole.  Even better for the unexpected visit,” Waverly says in reassurance, in a way that makes Nicole’s tension ease more thoroughly. “Although, I’d be remiss if I didn’t send you off to rest now. I know you’ll be just across the way if I need anythin’, alright? Chrissy’s already promised to come and call on me again soon.”

 

“She’s an angel, that girl,” Nicole says, her thoughts flooding with appreciation for the young woman. 

 

“Isn’t she just?” Waverly replies, although by the look in her eye, it isn’t so much Chrissy she appears to be thinking of with a dreamy expression written on her face, as someone a little  _ closer _ . 

 

“You sure you’re gonna be okay here?” Nicole asks her quietly, lowering herself a little to be closer to Waverly’s level. 

 

Waverly nods back slowly, and Nicole can tell that she’s not saying it for the sake of making Nicole feel better, she means it, for now at least. 

 

“But you’ll call on me on your way to the jail later?” Waverly asks hopefully, leaning up on her tiptoes, her body reaching for Nicole’s. 

 

“Try and stop me,” Nicole says winking, and she wants so desperately to lean down and press a quick kiss to Waverly’s cheek, but she knows that’s pushing it, because they can explain away an embrace like a hug, but not that, should someone see them. 

 

She reaches for Waverly regardless, though, as some sort of interim measure, running her hand down Waverly’s arm from shoulder to elbow, and Waverly leans into the touch with her eyes closed. Her hand moves from Waverly’s elbow down her forearm, squeezing her hand briefly before dropping her touch from Waverly’s fingertips, not missing the way Waverly hums in contentment. 

 

They both sigh softly, and before Nicole loses the will to leave completely, she gathers her hat from the counter. She’s struck with the most peculiar feeling as she takes step after step away from Waverly, like her heart is watching her leave for war, and the feeling turns her body without her prompt, to find Waverly looking after her with something that smells in the pre-noon air... like love. 

 

Her own smile must still be written high and plain on her face, because Gus has to suppress a smirk when Nicole walks through to the front desk. 

 

“Good mornin’, Deputy?” Gus asks, amusement spelled easily between her words. 

 

“It is now,” Nicole says a little dreamily, before coming back to the earth enough to turn to Gus and form a coherent sentence. “Sorry, Gus. Mornin’ to you, too. How are you?”

 

“I’m just fine, thank you, Deputy,” Gus replies with a continued look of amusement. “What brings you back here so early? You hungry for a bite of lunch?”

 

“I’m actually gonna work the night shift tonight,” Nicole explains, running her fingers through her hair, pushing back the strands knocked lose by removing her hat again. “So Nedley’s sent me back for rest before then.”

 

“Good on you, givin’ someone the night off,” Gus says, obviously impressed with Nicole’s work ethic. “S’pose you will want somethin’ then? I’ve got a stew settin’, and some bread, too, if you’d like?”

 

“I don’t want to be a bother,” Nicole tries to reason, just as her stomach growls loudly, and she realises she hasn’t actually eaten any of the small morsels in her satchel while she’s been out and about this morning.  

 

“Go and sit down,” Gus says, rolling her eyes at Nicole before walking off into the kitchen behind her desk. “I’ll bring you somethin’ in a minute.”

 

“You don’t have-” Nicole attempts one last time to reason, but Gus isn’t having any of it, walking quickly around the kitchen as Nicole takes a seat at one of the tables in the small dining area. 

 

She’s more than efficient, Nicole will give her that, because before she can so much as try to argue, Gus is setting a bowl of something that smells delicious in front of her, with a freshly baked loaf to the side. Nicole must look at her with something close to love, because Gus just laughs, clapping Nicole on the shoulder lightly before gesturing to her food.  

 

“You’re welcome, Deputy,” Gus says, smiling at her while Nicole’s mouth waters, before leaving Nicole to eat. 

 

She just about inhales the soup, only slowing when she gets to the warm bread, and it takes her a second to remember the last time she had a full meal like this, and not mouthfuls here and there. A few days at least, she thinks, before leaning back in her chair, pleasantly full. 

 

Nicole sits there for a minute before she slips her hands into her pockets, her fingers brushing over the small bottle Waverly had given her. She does pause for a moment then, not because she doesn’t trust Waverly implicitly, but because she’s never not been in full control of her faculties before. She doesn’t ever drink to excess, she doesn’t smoke like so many others do. It’s the losing control that worries her a little. 

 

But then she remembers that Waverly would never give her anything that she thought Nicole wouldn’t like, or anything that would make her feel uncomfortable, so she stands, resigned to take it when she makes her way upstairs, unsure how quickly the effects will take hold. She strips off her things, changing into the loose nightshirt she sleeps in, before picking up the little glass phial from where she’d left it on the small writing desk. Popping the top off, she drinks it down in one gulp, surprised by the pleasantly sweet taste it leaves on her tongue. 

 

It takes a minute for the tonic to hit her stomach, but the second it does Nicole starts to feel pleasantly drowsy, and she climbs into the softness of her bed as it begins to take full effect. She looks at the ceiling, pulling the light blanket around her waist, her eyes travelling the lines of the wooden boards there once,  _ twice _ , before her eyes grow too heavy to hold open, and easily, calmly, she finds sleep. 

  
  
  


-


	11. eleven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday everyone! You all jazzed for this week's instalment? I'm a bit excited about some of the plot development in this, myself.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy, feel free to swing by on [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigerlo_) and say hi or let me know if you liked it. 
> 
> Massive, enormous thanks as always to @iamthegaysmurf for her tireless beta and general friendship skills xx

-

  
  


When Nicole opens her eyes a few hours later, she doesn’t think she can ever remember a time she felt more rested when rising from sleep, even the first few nights here at the Inn. 

 

She sits up quickly, all of a sudden worried she might have overslept, but when she pulls her pocket watch off the small table at the side of the bed, it reveals just past six in the evening. Marvelling at the perfectly timed sleep, just as Waverly had said it would be, Nicole sits up properly, stretching her arms above her head. She checks in with her body, but finds no lingering side-effects of the elixir, marveling at how good she feels before swinging her legs out of bed. 

 

Gus had set a fresh bowl of water in her room while she’d been out earlier in the morning, and Nicole moves for it eagerly, splashing the room temperature water over her face and down her neck before drying off with the towel resting beside it. 

 

The small mirror in the room reveals a fresh and reasonably invigorated face, for which Nicole is immensely thankful, as she pulls her hair back into a more respectable braid. She moves to pull her clothes back on then, fixing Waverly’s bandana around her neck, her fingers lingering on the carefully stitched  **NH,** before making her way back downstairs. 

 

“Evenin’, Deputy,” Curtis says happily when she reaches the bottom of the stairs, taking the few steps to the front desk. “Sleep well?”

 

“Wonderfully,” Nicole replies with a wide smile, rubbing the base of her neck lightly. “Better than I have in my life, I think.”

 

“Waverly give you one of her wee potions, did she?” he asks, his eyes softening at the mention of his niece. 

 

“She did,” Nicole says in return, blushing a little at her obvious transparency. “I confess, I was a little nervous to take it, but I’m sure glad I did.”

 

“I know what you mean,” Curtis says with a wry smile. “Imagine the look on our faces when she wanted us to start tryin’ things she’d made. I mean, the young thing’s always been marvelously talented, but it’s hard not to balk at bein’ asked to drink something like that.”

 

“You were good to go along with it,” Nicole says kindly, hoping to show her appreciation for Curtis’s support. “She’s become a wonderful young woman with your encouragement, sir, if I can say so.”

 

“Well, she only needed to talk us into it once,” he replies, laughing gently, recalling the memory. “Once we felt what her little tonics could do. I tell you, Gus has had a bad back that’s kept her from sleepin’ well most of the years I’ve known her, and within a few months of startin’ to play with her remedies, Waverly’d found something to give her relief for the first time in a  _ long _ time. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Gus as happy as the mornin’ after her first draught.”

 

“She’s a very talented young woman, isn’t she?” Nicole offers a little dreamily in response, her mind finding the image of Waverly smiling at her easily. 

 

“You’re not so far off yourself, young lady,” Curtis says in return, his eyes kind as he appraises her. “I know your talents are a little different to Waverly’s, but I think you make a fine pair.”

 

She freezes at his words, at the blankness and simplicity with which he offers the statement, and Nicole finds herself waiting for a warning or a reprimand or something, but it doesn’t come. He only smiles softly in return. 

 

“I’m glad you had a good sleep, Deputy,” he says, grinning, and reaching down to one of the shelves she knows are built into the other side of the front desk. “Now, before I forget, Gus put a little bite to eat together for you for the night, and she told me to make sure I threatened you with somethin’ terrible by way of a consequence if you didn’t come and see her for breakfast before you retire in the mornin’.”

 

“I’d hate to find myself in a world of trouble like that,” Nicole replies with a laugh, her whole body light with their conversation. “I’ll make sure I get myself back for breakfast. And…thank you, sir-”

 

“Curtis,” he cuts across her gently, shaking his head. “Call me Curtis, Nicole.”

 

“Thank you, Curtis,” Nicole says softly, taking the proffered bundle of food when he walks around the side of the front desk. He presses one broad hand to her shoulder in affection before seeing her out the door. 

 

The low light of the evening casts a beautiful glow over the Main Street, and Nicole finds a distant elation in her blood, despite the happenings of the previous day and her altercation with Champ earlier in the morning. She’s hoping to see the door of Waverly’s shop open for her still, not closed early for whatever reason, and she’s not disappointed, beaming when she sees Waverly leaning over the counter talking to Chrissy again. 

 

“Evenin’, ladies,” Nicole says with a wide smile, coming to rest next to Chrissy, sliding her arm around Chrissy’s shoulders when she prompts Nicole for a hug. 

 

“Hi,” Waverly returns softly, her eyes warming at the sight of Nicole, a small smile tripping the edges of her lips as she bites at her lower one in an attempt to temper her reaction. 

 

“Rest well?” Chrissy asks kindly when she pulls away from Nicole’s side. 

 

“Wonderfully,” Nicole replies to Waverly directly, removing the small bottle and placing it on the counter. “More than, in fact.”

 

“That sleeping draught is amazing, isn’t it?” Chrissy says in admiration, turning to Waverly, as well. “She’s magic, I think, this one.”

 

“That she definitely is,” Nicole agrees, drinking in the sight of Waverly with the evening sun resting in the glass bottles on the shelves behind her, like some kind of halo.

 

“I hope that’s Waverly you’re talkin’ about,” Gus’s voice comes from behind them, and Nicole spins to see her walking through the door, as well. 

 

She’s smiling wryly, in a way that says to both Nicole and Chrissy that she knows Waverly is exactly who they were referring to. 

 

“Evenin’ ladies,” Gus says to them all before Waverly sweeps underneath the counter to press herself into her aunt’s side. “We all well?”

 

“Very,” Chrissy and Nicole say in unison while Waverly looks to Nicole with a soft glow in her eyes. 

 

“Good to hear,” Gus says gruffly before turning to Waverly. “Now, I’m sorry to interrupt, but you’re comin’ across for dinner whether you like it or not, young lady. You and that shadow of yours.”

 

Nicole smiles internally at the mention of Oakley, the pup raising her head as if hearing mention of herself, before making her way over to sit at Waverly’s feet, looking up to Nicole in a dopey, sleep-heavy manner. 

 

“It’s more than alright,” Chrissy says easily, looking to Nicole. “I was hopin’ you wouldn’t mind walkin’ me down to the jail with you, Nicole? Daddy was going to come and get me on the way out home, but I’ll just come alongside you, if that’s not an inconvenience?”

 

“‘Course not,” Nicole says easily, shaking her head and more than a little elated at Chrissy’s continued trust in her, particularly given how nervous she knows Chrissy is with the current state of things. “I’d be more than happy to escort you down. We should probably be makin’ our way, actually. I don’t want to be later’n the Sheriff’s expectin’ me.”

 

“Curtis give you that hamper of food?” Gus asks Nicole with a suspicious look, obviously worried he might have forgotten it. 

 

“He did, yes,” Nicole replies thoughtfully, holding up the bundle in her other hand by way of an answer. 

 

“Good,” Gus growls, looking over Nicole with the same slightly maternal look she gives Waverly. “Make sure you eat, alright, Deputy? If you’re gonna have more run-ins with the likes of Champ Hardy, we need to make sure you’ve got your wits about you every time.”

 

She’s not surprised Curtis has obviously shared details of her lunch-time visit to the saloon with Gus, aware that half the town probably knows by now, even though there hasn’t been anything dramatic to come out of the encounter. 

 

“I hope they aren’t a regular occurrence,” Nicole says with a sigh, smiling in spite of herself at Gus’s concern. “But I appreciate the sentiment, Gus. Don’t worry, it’ll take more than hunger for him to get the better of me.”

 

“Glad to hear it,” Gus replies, giving her a quick wink before her face smoothes over again and she turns to Waverly. “Now, come on, kid. Dinner time. You ladies, too, so Waverly can lock up behind you.”

 

They exit the shop en masse, Gus holding Oakley in her arms, her brow softening again when she coos softly to the pup about her day before stepping off into the Main Street. 

 

“I hope your shift goes well,” Waverly offers softly when Gus takes a step towards the Inn, and Chrissy the opposite way to give them a quick moment.

 

It’s not private, and they’re in the middle of the street, so Nicole dare not actually reach for her, no matter how fiercely her body is aching for it, but she offers a smile that she hopes conveys how much she wants to. 

 

“Thank you, Miss Earp,” Nicole replies quietly, dipping her head. “Have yourself a good evenin’, and I’ll call on you in the mornin’, on my way home, if you’d like?”

 

“I would,” Waverly returns sweetly, her eyes beautifully darkened in the fading light. “Take care?”

 

“Always,” Nicole says with a wink of her own before Gus grumbles in the background. 

 

“Come on you lot, or we’ll be out here in the dark with growlin’ bellies,” Gus grouses, collecting Waverly around the waist with her other hand and leading her inside. “She’ll see you in the mornin’, Deputy. Good night, Miss Nedley.”

 

“Goodnight, Gus,” Chrissy says, spinning back around from looking down the street with a frown on her face. “Night, Wave.”

 

Waverly offers them both a parting farewell before Chrissy holds her arm out for Nicole to take, which Nicole does smoothly, watching Chrissy’s expression carefully. 

 

“Everythin’ alright?” Nicole asks her cautiously, following the direction of Chrissy’s gaze as her eyes fix on something at the far end of the road. 

 

“I think so,” Chrissy says distantly, frowning still, straining her eyes further and holding onto Nicole’s arm a little tighter. 

 

“Can you see somethin’?” Nicole asks softly, not wanting to startle the other young woman, as distracted as she obviously is. “Chrissy?” 

 

“I think I’m goin’ mad,” Chrissy says finally, shaking her head before looking to Nicole finally. “I thought I saw…”

 

Nicole feels her blood chill in her veins at Chrissy’s words, because it wasn’t far off this time of the evening when she’d had her own experience with a fleeting black shape a few nights ago. 

 

“You thought you saw what?” Nicole questions Chrissy with a gentle tone, her hand closing over Chrissy’s in an attempt to reassure her some. 

 

“Some flash of black down the end of the street?” Chrissy answers airily, her voice still distracted with the effort of trying to re-see whatever it was she had just seen. “But I can’t have…”

 

“And you can’t see it now?” Nicole asks, trying to stop her whole body from tensing in response to the potential threat. 

 

“No,” Chrissy says vaguely, swinging her head from side to side before looking to Nicole again. “I can’t. I must have been seein’ things.”

 

“Perhaps,” Nicole says in response, a little distracted herself now, and she doesn’t want to say anything else, not wanting to frighten or unsettle Chrissy further. She’ll save the recollection for her father later, when Chrissy is out of earshot. “Shall we go?”

 

“Yes,” Chrissy says, nodding faintly, her full attention still divided between Nicole and whatever she may have seen down the way. “Let’s.”

 

Nicole walks them at a reasonable pace down to the jail, not wishing to hurry them and worry Chrissy, but eager to get her into the safe presence of her father, too. She’s relieved that Chrissy doesn’t seem particularly concerned at least, quite happy to hold tight to Nicole’s arm and have her lead them away. 

 

The jail is nice and quiet when Nicole and Chrissy do make their way there, only Nedley present - currently mid-argument with a man Nicole hasn’t met, locked in one of the cells - and one other man, dark skinned and exceptionally cleanly dressed, waiting patiently for Nedley at one of the desks when they enter. 

 

“I know he’s a wholesome asshole, but every second word out of his mouth is a slight against those Earp girls, Holliday,” Nedley says, obviously trying to reason with the man locked away. “You can’t hit him everytime he says somethin’ about Wynonna you don’t like, alright?”

 

“I let a  _ good deal _ slide,” the man -  _ Holliday _ \- says, shaking his head in anger, clutching the bars of his cell with white knuckles. “More than I’d like, Sheriff, but sometimes one has to be a man, and stand up for-”

 

“She’s not your woman, Doc,” Nedley says with a tone holding a surprising amount of what Nicole thinks is regret.

 

“I know she’s not,” Holliday - or Doc, Nicole isn’t sure - growls balefully before drawing back from the edge of the cell. “But it wasn’t just her he was having it out about. It was young Miss Waverly, too, and then damn Champ Hardy jumped in, and…”

 

“I saw the rest,” Nedley grouses, narrowing his eyes at the dark-haired man. “You got into a bar fight with four men, alone and unarmed. And Wynonna tries tellin’ me you’re smart, when she comes to bail you out.”

 

His eyes glow at the compliment before flicking to the newcomers, Nicole and Chrissy having entered almost silently. 

 

“Good evenin’, Miss Nedley,” Doc says smoothly in their direction, tipping his hat politely to Chrissy. “And you must be the new Deputy, Miss... _ Haught _ , is it?” 

 

“Evenin’ Doc,” Chrissy replies, blushing a little, and Nicole supposes she could see the charm present there in the raven-haired man and his seemingly impeccable manners,  _ if _ one was so inclined. 

 

“Ladies,” Nedley says by way of a greeting, turning at Doc’s words and walking over to meet them, taking Chrissy into his side from Nicole’s. “Thank you kindly for bringin’ Chrissy down, Haught. I was gettin’ worried she’d walk herself if I was here any longer.”

 

“It’s no problem at all, sir,” Nicole says easily, smiling at Nedley’s obvious concern for his daughter. “You seem more’n a little preoccupied. I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier.”

 

“It’s normally quieter’n a graveyard here now,” Nedley replies, rolling his eyes in the direction of the cells before raising his voice slightly. “Only Doc here decided to take half the town on himself, and ruin my peaceful evenin’. Haught, this here’s Doc Holliday, Wynonna Earp’s ranch hand. The two of you will be well acquainted before the month’s out. In fact, it’s some small miracle you haven’t met him already.”

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Deputy Haught,” Doc says from within the cell, bowing in a way that Nicole would consider a jape or rudeness from any other man, but from this one, somehow coming across with a genuine respect. “I’m terribly sorry to make your acquaintance from this side of these bars for the first time.”

 

She walks over to him, putting together the pieces in her head - Gus’s comments regarding him a few days ago, in addition to the reason for his current incarceration - of a man obviously better than what his unlawful record might suggest. 

 

“I believe the pleasure might be mine, Mr. Holliday,” Nicole replies with a smile, extending her hand to shake his, much to his obvious surprise. “In spite of our current positions. I’ve heard a few things about you.”

 

“Have you now?” Doc asks, winking when he releases Nicole’s hand. “All terrible, I hope.”

 

“Undoubtedly,” Nedley says with a growl from across the room. “Haught, there’s someone else I’d like to introduce you to, as well. This here is Xavier Dolls. He’s one of the local lawyers, lives on the edge of town. Mr. Dolls, this is my new deputy, Nicole Haught.”

 

The dark-skinned gentleman stands at the end of Nedley’s sentence, inclining his head respectfully in Nicole’s direction. Nicole walks over, extending her hand just as she had done with Doc, and Dolls takes it with a pleasantly surprised grin. 

 

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Dolls,” Nicole says politely, looking the man in the eye while she shakes his hand. He’s obviously a man of few words, not replying verbally, only with his eyes, quite the contrast against the obviously talkative Doc Holliday, but there’s a calmness and intensity there that Nicole doesn’t mind either. 

 

“Dolls and I have some business to attend to quickly if you’ll be alright here with this hooligan and Chrissy?” Nedley asks Nicole, the strain of the day evident beneath his eyes. 

 

“Of course, sir,” Nicole says quickly, a little proud that Nedley is so easy to trust such things to her, obviously comfortable with her ability to manage anything that may occur. 

 

Nedley nods his head in thanks before disappearing into the next room with Dolls, giving Nicole the opportunity to turn back and watch Chrissy in easy conversation with Doc. That does a significant amount to reassure her as to the strength of Doc’s character, because if she thinks she’s a good judge of one, she  _ knows _ Chrissy is, and she seems not only perfectly at ease in his company, but to truly enjoy it. 

 

“Daddy didn’t want to lock you up here,” Chrissy is saying regretfully when Nicole makes her way back over to them. “I could tell, he just… you don’t make it easy for him sometimes, Doc.”

 

“I know,” Doc replies with an equal tone of regret, hanging his head in something Nicole thinks might be shame. “And I’m sorry to be a bother to him and yourself, Miss. I know you’d rather be at home by now.”

 

“Why’d you start it?” Chrissy asks, tilting her head and frowning, drawing the chair she has in her hands closer to the cell so they can talk more easily. 

 

“It doesn’t matter, darlin’,” Doc says in reply, and Nicole knows at once that he’s trying to be a gentleman about the specifics. 

 

“It does to me,” Chrissy says softly, and Nicole can see his resolve crumble at her kindness, finding herself wondering how often they’ve found themselves in this very position. “Please?”

 

“Don’t you go tellin’ your father or the Earps I’ve told you this, alright?” Doc growls before pushing his hair back off his face. “The men were just… sayin’ somethin’ less than complimentary about Wynonna, and then Miss Waverly, too, and I felt my blood boilin’ at that, because that girl’s never done anythin’ but help people in this damn town, and before I knew it, your daddy was holdin’ my fist back while the other deputy with him was holdin’ the others away.”

 

“Oh, Doc,” Chrissy says sadly, and Nicole knows it’s sympathy for where he’s ended up tonight, but it’s something else, also. “You’re a better man than anyone in this town gives you credit for.”

 

He laughs softly at that, ducking his head in what Nicole thinks is a blush, before looking up to the both of them, suddenly noticing Nicole standing back respectfully. 

 

“If you could tell the young Wynonna that, I’d be much obliged,” Doc says with a seemingly cavalier wink, but Nicole knows there’s depth to that, too. 

 

“She knows, Doc,” Chrissy says quietly, reaching to take his hand between the bars. “She’ll come to her senses one day. We all know she will, alright?”

 

“I do very much hope so,” Doc replies to Chrissy with an equal softness, and instantly Nicole’s respect for the man is trebled, because clearly he’s madly infatuated with Wynonna, in love with her even, but there isn’t a hint of the possessiveness Nicole had seen in Champ for Waverly. Not a drop. 

 

Nicole’s about to open her mouth to speak when Nedley and Dolls come back through from the next room, Nedley looking a little grave, but slightly lighter than when they’d entered. 

 

“Thank you, Dolls,” Nedley says firmly, shaking the man’s hand before walking him to the door. “And remember, they don’t know a damn thing. If they don’t want your advice, they don’t deserve it. I’ll be in touch, and you’ll let me know if you hear…”

 

“Yes, sir,” Dolls says in reply, and Nicole’s struck by the timbre of his voice. “The moment I hear anythin’. Take care of you and yours, alright?”

 

Their conversation strikes a thought in Nicole, and she hurries to try and make a mental note of it before something else distracts her, because Nedley had said  _ lawyer _ , and yes, it’s unorthodox to take a woman on, but if anyone might understand unorthodox, it could be Xavier Dolls. Nedley obviously thinks highly enough of the man as well, so perhaps there’s something there she could organise to Chrissy’s advantage by way of a mentor, if law truly was something she wanted to develop some skill in. 

 

“I always do,” Nedley says gravely, nodding in response to Dolls before seeing him out and turning back to Chrissy. “Alright, young lady. Best we’d get home, I think.”

 

He walks back over to the three of them, setting his hands on his hips and sagging down against the support of his own arms before addressing Doc. 

 

“Assure me you’re not going to be trouble for Haught’s first night shift, Holliday?” Nedley says with a heavy sigh. “Because I’ll be tempted to thump you myself if I hear you’ve been difficult.”

 

“I’ll be the perfect gentleman, my life on it,” Doc says seriously, and it’s flamboyant, but Nicole knows he means it regardless. 

 

Nedley rolls his eyes, but seems to take it for the truth Nicole had, as well, turning back to Nicole with a reassuring expression.  

 

“Haught, there really isn’t a lot more to do overnight. Just stay awake in case anyone comes lookin’ for you, which highly likely won’t happen. If it does, and you have to leave, send whoever’s come in straight out to me, and I’ll come and join you as quick as I can,” Nedley says, and Nicole’s a little nervous at the thought, but she knows it’s only first night flutters, and she’ll be fine once he leaves and she and Doc can settle into the evening. 

 

“Sounds good to me, sir,” Nicole replies, turning to give Nedley her full attention. 

 

“Oh, the older Earp is likely to turn up in around... what, Doc? An hour or so? To try and bail him out, but she has to wait ‘till mornin’, and she knows that good and well. Don’t let her try and tell you otherwise,” Nedley says with a lightly warning tone. 

 

“I’m sure I can manage her,” Nicole says with a little smile, to which Nedley and Doc both make a face. “She might find it easier dealin’ with a woman after you two, you know?”

 

“I suspect you might be right, Deputy,” Doc says, laughing genially. “I suspect you might be right, indeed. Good night, Sheriff. I’m terribly sorry again to have been a bother.”

 

“It’s alright, Holliday,” Nedley grumbles, looking the other man in the eye. “I can’t say I would have done differently in your position, truth be told. Just… try not to do it in  _ front _ of the Sheriff next time?”

 

“Yes, sir,” Doc says with a sweep and a bow before nodding to Nicole. “And I’ll be sure to make for some pleasant company as best I can tonight, too.”

 

“See you tomorrow,” Chrissy says next, sweeping past her father to press a quick kiss to Nicole’s cheek. “Thank you for walkin’ me down, and I’m sorry about whatever that was earlier down the street. I don’t know what came over me.”

 

That prompts Nicole to remember to speak to Nedley about that matter in the morning, because she’s not sure what Chrissy saw, or what she herself saw, but she thinks it’s more than worth mentioning to the Sheriff. Nedley catches the comment, too, frowning for a moment before Nicole is able to mouth  _ I’ll explain tomorrow  _ when Chrissy turns her attention to Doc for a second. He nods seriously, changing his expression the second Chrissy turns back to him. 

 

“He’s actually not  _ bad _ company,” Nedley offers begrudgingly, swinging his head towards Doc when Chrissy takes his arm and they make for the door. “See you in the mornin’, Haught.”

 

“Goodnight, sir,” Nicole replies warmly, seeing them out before walking back over to the cell, depositing herself down in the seat Chrissy had recently vacated. “You mind if I…?”

 

“Not at all, Deputy,” Doc answers with a pleasantly surprised tone. “Please, do. Perhaps I can reintroduce myself and try to form a better impression for you.”

 

“I think you’re doin’ better than you might think,” Nicole says easily, smiling when she crosses her legs, making herself comfortable. “So, you’re Doc Holliday, huh?”

 

“The one and only,” he says graciously, bowing his head to her. “And you are Miss Nicole Haught?”

 

“That I am,” Nicole nods, watching his expressive face as he appraises her while she speaks. “Word get around that fast, huh?”

 

“In a way,” Doc says with a shrug, moving back to drag the small stool in the cell towards the bars so he can sit, too. “Wynonna mentioned the new deputy offerin’ a hand with a small spot of trouble when she came home from town the other day.”

 

“Ah,” Nicole nods in understanding, recalling that encounter easily, not only because it had been her first and only time meeting and speaking to Wynonna. “Not all the men in this town are as charmin’ as you, it would seem.”

 

“That they are not,” Doc replies, frowning, taking in Nicole’s words heartily. “I must convey my thanks to you for offerin’ Wynonna assistance in that matter. She may not, as our kind Sheriff pointed out, be  _ my _ girl, but she is someone very close to my heart. It’s troublin’ sometimes, the attitude this town has towards the Earps, and I count myself more than lucky when I find an ally in the matter against that attitude.”

 

“I must confess it’s more than troublin’ to me, too,” Nicole admits, acknowledging Doc’s thoughtfulness. “Particularly the attitude towards Waverly Earp, given her guilt only by association.”

 

“ _ Ah _ ,” Doc says, his eyes flashing at Nicole’s words. “You’ve met Miss Waverly, then? Charmin’ herself, is she not?”

 

“She is,” Nicole admits, not worried that Doc’s question is anything more than a simple question, not containing any untoward insinuation. “And a talented young woman, too, at that.”

 

“She has an uncommon skill with healin’, that’s for sure,” Doc says with a smile, nodding in agreement. “She’s patched both Wynonna and myself up more times than I can count.”

 

“Speakin’ of which, are you in need of anythin’?” Nicole asks, eyeing the cut on Doc’s lip with concern. “I’m sure it’s nothin’ worse than you’ve experienced before, but there might be somethin’ here to help that lip if you need?”

 

“A swig of whiskey wouldn’t go amiss,” Doc says wryly, winking at Nicole, to which she scoffs, before shaking his head. “But beyond that, I’ll be fine. Although I thank you for your concern, Deputy.”

 

As soon as he finishes speaking, his stomach growls in the quiet, and they both laugh a little, before Nicole stands and walks to retrieve the wrapped bundle Gus had prepared for her. 

 

“ _ That _ , at least, I can help with,” Nicole says easily, unfolding the bundle on the desk behind where she’s sitting, surveying the food before handing Doc a large piece of dried meat and bread. 

 

“Not that I don’t appreciate it, Deputy,” Doc says when she takes a piece of food for herself. “But why the kindness? The other deputies are polite, to be sure, but…”

 

“Anyone who shows kindness to people like Waverly and Wynonna Earp deserves my own,” Nicole replies with a simple shrug. “I think you’re a decent man, Doc Holliday, even if we are havin’ this conversation through the bars of a cell.”

 

“If I had a drink in my hand, I would toast to that, Deputy,” Doc says, smiling easily at her, and Nicole can’t help but agree with the sentiment. 

 

“Perhaps we can eat to it instead?” Nicole says warmly in reply, and she’s just about to raise a bite of bread when heavy footfalls make their way across the porch before stomping through the front door of the jail.

 

Nicole tenses, her hand moving to her weapon quickly, but she needn’t have bothered, because the figure that appears isn’t a ghost or an enemy. It’s Wynonna Earp. Just as Nedley had predicted.

 

“You’re a pain in my  _ ass _ , Doc Holliday,” she grouses, before making her way over to the cell to greet Nicole and Doc. “What in the sweet hell have you done now?”

 

She sighs a little in relief, but it doesn’t move the whole way through her body, because it’s Wynonna Earp, yes, but she’s not actually sure if this means she’s in  _ more _ danger than if it were a stranger, or less. Nicole stands to reintroduce herself, but Wynonna beats her to it, walking up to the cell bars with her hands on her hips. 

 

“Haven’t you got anythin’ better to do than bother the new deputy, Holliday?” Wynonna says a little testily. “This is what... your first night shift, Haught?”

 

She’s more than a little impressed, both at Wynonna’s perceptiveness, and the fact that she’s actually remembered Nicole’s name. 

 

“It is, but-” Nicole starts before Wynonna cuts her off again. 

 

“Her first night shift,” Wynonna says directly to Doc, who has since shifted to a standing position, holding his hat over his stomach, in a gesture of respect, but probably also of a mind to protect his vital organs. “Jesus, Doc. What the hell did you do this time? I hope you at least had the thoughtfulness not to get dragged in by the Sheriff himself.”

 

“Actually, he-” Nicole says, eager to explain the situation properly, to ease Wynonna’s anger with the tale of the truth, before being cut off again, this time by Doc instead. 

 

“Got caught in a stupid fight when I lost a game of cards,” Doc says smoothly, and Nicole frowns for a moment before Doc throws her a  _ please go along with this  _ look, and she sighs in resignation. 

 

“You what?” Wynonna deadpans, raising an eyebrow in disbelief, and Nicole doesn’t know her well, but she knows that this is not a good expression to be on the other end of. 

 

“Those damn York boys and the Hardy kid cheated, and beat me, and I couldn’t stand the slight,” Doc says with a shrug, and Nicole thinks that those details probably aren’t too far from what happened in so far as those names being the participants in the fight, Doc’s just omitting one important detail. 

 

That the reason he has a split lip has more to do with his love of the Earp girls, and less about his own selfish need to protect his ego or seek revenge on a lost handful of coins. 

 

“Christ, Doc,” Wynonna says, thoroughly exasperated. “You just can’t help yourself, can you? I had half a dozen things for you this afternoon, and instead of helpin’ me, you’re out there throwin’ your fists around for a goddamn stupid reason.”

 

Nicole is dying to step in and correct her, to set Wynonna right, because she’s got it all wrong. Doc isn’t irresponsible, he’s kind and good and he’s only here for defending Wynonna’s honour, and her sister’s, too, but one look at a still-pleading Doc makes her draw the words off her tongue. 

 

Because for whatever reason - and she can’t for the life of her see what it is now - he’s chosen  _ not _ to divulge this, and Nicole needs to respect that. 

 

“I’m sorry, Wynonna,” he says gently, and she can hear the true sincerity in his voice, as can Wynonna, if the look that softens on her face is anything to go by, her shoulders rounding a little. “Truly, I am. I wasn’t thinkin’ of how I would let you down, and I offer you my deepest apologies.”

 

Wynonna is weakened by his response, the rage leaving her in a rush, and for a moment, Nicole can see a clear and strong connection between the two of them that Gus had been alluding to the other day, because Wynonna’s eyes soften towards Doc the way she knows her own do towards Waverly, and she’s left wondering more than just why it is Doc won’t tell her the truth, but also why Wynonna won’t give in to the love she obviously has for Doc, either. 

 

“Just… try to do it when Nedley isn’t lookin’ next time, alright?” Wynonna says with a begrudgingly softer tone, dropping her hands to her sides. “It’s borin’ as hell out there without you makin’ a fool of yourself.”

 

“Very good advice, Miss Earp,” Doc returns, smiling at the way her anger has obviously eased, and Nicole wonders how much further it would retreat if Wynonna knew what was really happening. “I will strive to hit the boys when the Sheriff’s back is turned next time.”

 

“Sorry to interrupt your otherwise rivetin’ evenin, Deputy,” Wynonna says finally, turning to Nicole finally. “I’m sure you were lookin’ forward to settin’ you’re feet up and sleepin’ the night away, and now you’ve gotta look after this fool.”

 

“I’m not quite so jaded by the job that I need to sleep on a shift just yet,” Nicole says a little smartly, keen for Wynonna to take away a good impression of her. “But maybe in a month or two, I’ll be more tempted.”

 

“I hope so,” Wynonna replies with a half-frown. “I’d hate to think you’re one of these goody two-shoes deputies, like the rest of ‘em that can’t take a joke.”

 

“I think what the Deputy here lacks in mischief, she makes up for in her good heart,” Doc interjects, and Nicole is more than a little touched at his quick observation of her. 

 

“Shame,” Wynonna says with a sulky look, placing her hands on her hips again. “Suppose you’re not interested in springin’ him early, then?”

 

“I’m afraid not,” Nicole returns, grimacing softly. “Probably a little too early for me to start breakin’ the rules, don’t you think?” 

 

“That’s quite alright, Deputy,” Doc says amicably, taking a seat back down on his stool and gesturing for Nicole and Wynonna to do the same. “I wouldn’t expect you to. Besides, it’s not such a bad spot here currently. I’ve never been offered part of the other deputies’ supper before, especially not one of Gus’s creation.”

 

“Gus made that?” Wynonna asks, looking down at the collection of food behind Nicole with bright eyes, and Nicole wonders when the last time Wynonna might have had the opportunity to sample some of Gus’s food was. 

 

“Sure did,” Nicole replies easily, taking her seat in the hope that it might prompt Wynonna to, also. “You’re welcome to stay and join us, if you’d like. It’s certainly more eatin’ than for two.”

 

She watches the contemplation pass across Wynonna’s face, obviously torn between giving in and the desire to eat as much of Gus’s preparations as she can, before the food wins out, and she slides into a seat next to Nicole.

 

“It’s only because I haven’t made dinner, waiting for this fool to turn up, and I’m starvin’,” Wynonna rationalises, eagerly looking towards the fresh baked bread. “I’m not in the habit of eatin’ with lawmen - or  _ women _ \- often, you know.”

 

“And you never have to again,” Nicole offers with a smile, pushing the helping of food towards Wynonna, gesturing for her to make a start. “Though, you’d always be welcome to, if you wanted.”

 

“Good  _ Lord, _ that woman can bake a loaf of bread,” Wynonna says around a mouthful, in what feels like less than a second later. “Even if she is as sharp as a hawk when you try and steal it out from under her.”

 

“You’re not wrong there,” Nicole replies with a wry smile, taking another handful and passing it through the bars to Doc. “Although, I think I value my life better than to try and steal from Gus.”

 

“You think the woman can cook? You should see how fast she can smack you with a wooden spoon, still cookin’ with the other damn hand,” Wynonna says, snorting before reaching for a couple of the fresh baked cookies next. 

 

“I can imagine,” Nicole laughs, calling a likely scenario of a young Wynonna trying to sneak in and out of Gus’s kitchen without being seen, only to fail tremendously, and walk out with a red face and a redder behind instead.

 

“Still, it wasn’t so bad,” Wynonna admits with a shrug, breaking off half a cookie and popping it into her mouth. “Waverly used to take the blame half the time, and Gus always let  _ her _ off.”

 

“That’s good of her,” Nicole says, smiling at, but unsurprised by, Waverly’s kindness. 

 

“She was the best kid sister you could hope for,” Wynonna sighs, surveying the pile of food for one last morsel. “Say, speakin’ of her, Gus tells me you’ve been playin’ rescue, and helpin’ Wave out with a few things, too?”

 

Nicole blanches at that, completely unsure of the extent to which Wynonna is aware that their relationship extends, not wanting to reveal more than Waverly has been comfortable sharing, even if she has mentioned to Nicole that she’s disclosed the true nature of her feelings towards the fairer sex to Wynonna previously. 

 

“Uh…” Nicole says a little dumbly, to which Wynonna smiles with something that Nicole thinks is a knowing look, but she doesn’t actually say anything about it, seemingly content not to raise that with Nicole for now. 

 

“It’s damn lucky I had to come here and find your stupid ass, I’ll tell you that much. Have you seen the size of that bruise?” Wynonna seethes, and there’s something in Nicole that warms to her infinitely more upon hearing how upset she is over what Champ had done, too. “I’m still not completely beyond the want to knock on his front door with the end of a rifle once I leave here.”

 

“Come on now,” Doc says quietly, in a voice Nicole has yet to hear, and she wonders, actually, if it’s one he reserves exclusively for Wynonna. “You know you’ll only do the girl harm by gettin’ into trouble defendin’ her. And young Mr. Hardy isn’t worth you endin’ up in here with me.”

 

Wynonna looks at him like she wants to argue, but holds her tongue for now, amazingly, and Nicole speculates whether anyone else in the world, even Waverly, would have calmed her anger so effectively. 

 

“Besides,” Doc says with a wry smile, the edge of his moustache turning up in amusement as he leans closer to Wynonna, and by extension, Nicole. “You might be happy to learn that I secured a  _ very _ solid punch on your behalf before Nedley pulled me off him.”

 

“Very happy,” Wynonna replies, trying to suppress her own smile as the two of them share a private look. “But, you didn’t hear that, right Deputy?”

 

“Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” Nicole says casually, watching an approving smile spread across Wynonna’s face. “And for what it’s worth, I had a few words with him this mornin’, too, actually.”

 

“You did?” Wynonna asks, instantly curious, her mouth turning up in surprise, moving her body to face Nicole properly. “What’d you say?”

 

“Nothin’ like what I really wanted to,” Nicole says balefully, frowning before reminding herself that something is better than nothing. “But enough to let him know I wouldn’t tolerate any behaviour like that again, against Waverly or anyone else, and I won’t hesitate to drag his ass down here and lock him up, neither.”

 

“Huh,” Wynonna says, nodding in acknowledgement, a smile curling the corner of her mouth. “Whaddaya know, Deputy Haught’s got stones.”

 

“I think it’s fine of you,” Doc agrees, albeit in a slightly more polite manner. “And something I think hurt young Mr. Hardy’s pride significantly, if the fact that it was still on his mind when I encountered him is any indication.”

 

“Good,” Wynonna says plainly, and Nicole can’t help but nod in agreement. “Asshole.”

 

“He’s a bully,” Nicole says, the mere memory of Champ Hardy threatening to ruin her mood. “I don’t like bullies.” 

 

Wynonna gives her a carefully curated smile in return, like she knows what Nicole isn’t saying, that she would have done that and a lot more just because it was Waverly, but it’s more than that, too, like Nicole has impressed her somehow.

 

“Nor do I, Deputy,” Doc agrees smoothly, watching the interaction between Nicole and Wynonna. “And I agree, it was most certainly a decent thing to do.” 

 

“Still, shame you couldn’t arrest him,” Wynonna says, shrugging, slapping her hands on her legs as though preparing herself to leave. 

 

“Give me time,” Nicole replies with a wink, pleased when Wynonna  _ does _ smile then. 

 

“Glad to hear it,” Wynonna returns, grinning perceptively, and Nicole wishes so badly she could get Wynonna to articulate whatever it is that’s going on in her head, because she looks like she’s thinking about  _ something _ . “Anyway, if I don’t leave, I’ll be ridin’ home in the pitch dark. Christ that moon is small, isn’t it?”

 

“It’s unsettlin’,” Doc grumbles, and Nicole knows he means the moon itself,  _ and _ the fact that Wynonna is riding back alone. “Sure we can’t tempt you to remain here the night, instead?”

 

“Not a chance,” Wynonna says with a look that says  _ you should know better than that.  _

 

“Be careful, Wynonna,” Doc says seriously, and Wynonna’s own expression changes at his tone. “Remember what your aunt and uncle said, alright? Don’t be stupid. Ride hard and stay home.”

 

“Yes, sir,” Wynonna replies a little facetiously, but Nicole knows she’s taken Doc seriously, and so does he. “Hey, Deputy Haught? Thanks for bein’ a hero today. I’m glad someone else is lookin’ out for her, too.”

 

“Always, Wynonna,” Nicole says sincerely, and she knows by the nod of acceptance on Wynonna’s face that she knows Nicole means it.

 

“Send word for me if Nedley won’t let him out in the mornin’, won’t you?” Wynonna grouses, looking to Doc. “I don’t want to have to, but I’ll drag my ass in if need be, and have a word with the good Sheriff myself.”

 

“I can’t see why there’d be a problem,” Nicole says easily, knowing full well Nedley won’t keep Doc in any longer than strictly necessary. “But if there is, I’ll come out myself.”

 

Wynonna nods before walking to the edge of the cell, reaching for Doc’s hand briefly, and it’s only a glancing touch, a small farewell, but the significance of it for Nicole is huge. Doc’s eyes slide shut and he breathes in, his fingers slipping from hers like something liquid and not solid at all. Wynonna’s at the door before she turns back to speak to Nicole, her eyes bright and intelligent and keen, before she offers Nicole a parting sentiment.

 

“You’re a rare breed, Haught, true to your first impression,” Wynonna throws over her shoulder. “And not so bad after all.”

 

Nicole tries to smother the beaming grin that threatens to release itself at her words, dropping her head lower to hide it, but Doc catches the edge of it, smiling, too. 

 

“She’s a far better person than most folk are prepared to give her credit for,” Doc says to Nicole when she finally raises her head fully. “She’d do anythin’ for her family, not just her blood kin - although she’d kill for Waverly, I know she would - but her family, too. Her  _ real _ family.”

 

“I think you are, too, Doc Holliday,” Nicole says perceptively, taking her seat next to him again. “And I think the Earps are exceptionally lucky to have you. Wynonna especially. I know it’s none of my business, but it looks like there’s somethin’ there, for her, at her end.”

 

“I know there is,” Doc says sadly, and for a moment, he looks old, so much older than the young years reflected by his body. “One day she’ll come to her mind about it. I just hope we’re both here to see that day dawn.”

  
  


-

  
  


The rest of the night passes pleasantly, and Nicole is surprised by just how good of company Doc turns out to be. He’s interested and perceptive and curious, but he has a politeness, too, not shared by many men from his time. 

 

He asks her of her life before Purgatory, of her history and her interests and why she wanted to take up her life’s journey with the law, and with anyone else, she might be worried their interest had a malicious intent, but she knows there’s a genuineness to his inquisitive questions, and somehow, she feels like she can trust him. Slowly, as they finish the food between them, Doc learns of her life, and Nicole learns of his, too, and by the end, when the dawn begins to rise outside, Nicole decides there is no better man that she could think of to act as a guardian for the Earps. 

 

Doc dozes off at some point in the early morning after keeping Nicole company all evening, not long before Nicole is expecting Nedley to arrive, and it takes a conscious effort for her then to stop herself feeling a little sleepy also, eager for Nedley to walk through that door and relieve her. He isn’t far after the first suggestion of light on the horizon, without Chrissy this morning, yawning a little when he makes his way into the main part of the jail.

 

“Mornin’, Haught,” he says with a bit of warmth, walking over to the desk Nicole had taken as her own for the night, close to Doc’s cell should he have need for anything. “How was the night? No problems?” 

 

“Not a one, sir,” Nicole replies with a confident smile, standing to meet Nedley, trying not to groan when her body contests the movement. 

 

“Holliday alright?” Nedley asks, throwing his head in the direction of a still fast-asleep Doc. 

 

“He was excellent, actually,” Nicole says easily, her own eye turning to find Doc also. “He’s not a half-bad man, is he?”

 

“He’s one of the good ones,” Nedley grumbles, and Nicole’s surprised, but  _ not _ surprised, at the ease with which Nedley admits this fact. “Shame the town turns their noses up at him for the simple fact that he supports the Earps too clearly.”

 

“I think it’s good they have each other, sir,” Nicole replies before the next thought forms instantaneously. “It’s good they’ve got each other, and us, too.”

 

“Us, too, indeed,” Nedley says with a smile that’s gone as quick as it came, and he’s about to walk away when Nicole catches his attention, wanting to ensure she communicates the two things she has front of mind before anyone else arrives. 

 

“Sir,” she says quickly, to which Nedley turns immediately. “I wondered if I might speak to you about a couple of matters?” 

 

“‘Course, Haught,” he says gruffly, his eyes crinkling in concern. “Everythin’ alright?”

 

“Fine, sir,” Nicole says quickly, knowing that one isn’t exactly fine, but nothing she wants to worry him about up front in the event that they’re interrupted. “They’re just small things, really.”

 

“Go on then,” he encourages, moving to sit at his desk and gesturing for her to take the seat across from him.

 

“First of all, and I hope you won’t be angry at me bein’ so forward, but I’ve spent a not insignificant amount of time with Chrissy lately, sir, and, to be plain, she’s a remarkable young woman,” Nicole begins, watching for any sign that Nedley wants her to stop, and upon seeing none, continues. “I’m sure she’d be more than happy to stay and keep your house until she’s married, but I’m of the opinion that she would be more than capable of doin’ that and picking up another pursuit, if you would be so inclined as to facilitate it, sir.”

 

“What kinda pursuit is that?” Nedley asks, and Nicole’s impressed that the tone of his voice is interested and curious, and not stubbornly set on his own opinion. 

 

“Well, she may have already said as much to you, but she shows a desire and an inclination, and  _ I _ think, has some natural aptitude towards the field of law,” Nicole says carefully, and she watches as the cogs start to turn in his head. “I wondered, if you were amenable, and he was also, whether you’d consider her studyin’ some under Mr. Xavier Dolls, sir?”

 

Nedley’s face moves through a number of emotions so quickly she can barely keep up with them, but she thinks she sees approval there, and appreciation, and perhaps even him being impressed, too. She doesn’t think he’s angry, but he doesn’t actually say anything, and it begins to worry Nicole, so she scrambles to apologise, lest she have overstepped some boundary with him. 

 

“I completely understand if I’ve assumed too much, sir, and I won’t again, I’m-”

 

“Haught, it’s alright, calm down,” he says quickly, holding his hand up to silence her. “You know, I can count the number of people on two hands who’ve showed concern for my daughter other than myself. Two of them are in this room right now, two of them run the Inn, and the other two share the surname Earp. Now, would this have been inappropriate to ask anyone else in the world? Yes, probably. But is it acceptable to me? Yes, it is.”

 

He’s smiling a little when he finishes speaking, and Nicole can’t fully suppress her own in response. 

 

“Quite frankly, I’ve been thinking’ of tryin’ to organise something exactly like this myself for a long time,” Nedley offers to Nicole, folding and unfolding his hands on the desk. “I know Chrissy’s got a good head on her shoulders, it’s just been a matter of findin’ the right thing for her, but I hadn’t thought of Dolls.”

 

“I just…” Nicole says before trailing off, wanting to choose her words carefully. “I thought he might appreciate bein’ a minority in a field like that, sir. He might be more willin’ to take a woman on?”

 

“It’s a good thought,” Nedley replies, nodding to her. “It’s a very good thought, actually. I’m impressed. I might just have a talk with Dolls when he’s here again.”

 

“Thank you, sir,” Nicole says in return, blushing a little at his compliment. “And thank you for bein’ amenable to the suggestion.”

 

“I probably won’t say it a lot, but I meant what I said when you first arrived here, Haught,” Nedley says with a gruff affection. “It means a great deal you’ve taken to Chrissy so well, and you’re still lookin’ out for her. It’s hard to let her out of my sight at the moment, but I trust her with you just as much as I do myself.”

 

“She’s an easy and lovely addition to my day, sir,” Nicole replies, smiling a little. “It’s really no problem at all.”

 

Nedley nods, presuming that’s the end of what Nicole had wanted to speak to him about, obviously preparing to return to his morning routine, so Nicole speaks again softly. 

 

“I’m sorry, sir,” Nicole says quickly, not wanting to keep him, but knowing full well how important it is that she get her second point across. “There was one more thing, if that’s alright?”

 

“‘Course,” Nedley looks up, surprised. “I’ve told you, don’t ever feel like you can’t talk, especially if somethin’ is bothering you.”

 

Nicole takes a breath, trying to organise her thoughts into something that doesn’t sound quite so crazy. She can’t deny that it looks like madness, but she’s hoping against hope that Nedley knows her well enough by now to know that she wouldn’t even raise anything if she didn’t think it was important. 

 

“You asked me to tell you if I saw anythin’ off, or out of place, right, sir?” Nicole asks him, watching the way his face changes from interested to concerned at Nicole’s tone. 

 

“I did,” Nedley says shortly before beckoning her on, waving his hand to demonstrate. 

 

“Well… the thing is that I’m not sure  _ what _ I saw, but I think I saw somethin’, and I think Chrissy did, too, on a separate occasion,” Nicole explains carefully, trying to sound as sensible as possible. 

 

“What was it?” Nedley asks quickly, and Nicole can tell she has his absolute full attention now. 

 

“Well, and I can’t stress enough that I don’t know what it was, or what it meant, sir, but a few nights ago, I was standin’ on the Main Street at dusk, and this…  _ feeling _ came over me, and I turned, and saw somethin’. A flash of black that was there for a second, and gone the next.”

 

“You mentioned that before?” Nedley says perceptibly, nodding along with her story. “And did Chrissy see somethin’, too?”

 

“She did, sir,” Nicole affirms, her voice a little grave as she recalls the event last night that had set her blood to ice. “Same as me, didn’t know what it was, just knew it was somethin’, I think.”

 

“So the same time of day?” Nedley asks rhetorically, obviously trying to build a picture in his head. “Is there any way to describe  _ what _ it looked like, Haught? Any descriptors?”

 

“Well, it looked roughly human-sized, sir,” Nicole answers, trying to wrack her brain for more detail. “But it didn’t look solid. It looked… well, it looked like it was made of smoke, to be honest. It seemed to move like smoke, after my eyes found it. I saw it, and then it was gone.”

 

“Jesus Christ,” Nedley grumbles, dropping his head into his hands, and Nicole feels her stomach drop because maybe he does think this is just ridiculous. 

 

“I know it sounds mad, sir. I’m sorry,” Nicole says quickly, hurrying to apologise. 

 

“I’m not…” Nedley says through his hands before dropping them and looking to Nicole. “I don’t think you’re mad at all, Haught. That’s the problem.”

 

“Oh,” Nicole replies with a sigh of relief, sagging a little on her chair. “You don’t think it sounds crazy?”

 

“It definitely sounds crazy, but that doesn’t mean I don’t believe you,” Nedley says seriously, thumbing his moustache as he thinks. “Not if Chrissy thinks she saw somethin’, as well.”

 

“I’ve been lookin’ everywhere for a sign of anythin’ since I saw it, sir, and I haven’t found a damn thing,” Nicole says by way of an assurance that she has taken this seriously. “I don’t know what it was or is, but I thought it important to tell you.”

 

“You did the right thing,” Nedley says, nodding, appraising the worried look on her face. “Absolutely the right thing. It’s hard putting’ your neck on the line like that, but that’s what makes you a good law woman, I think. I’ll keep an eye on things myself, and tell the others too, as well.” 

 

“Thank you,” Nicole says, nodding at his affirmation, because she’s been worried about telling him since resigning to say something last night, and it’s a massive relief that he was not only prepared to listen, but that he took her seriously, too. 

 

“This damn town, I tell you,” Nedley curses under his breath, and Nicole’s about to question him when he finishes the sentence for her. “More oddness here than I’ve ever been able to make sense of.” 

 

“Really?” Nicole asks curiously, her own interest piqued now, narrowing her eyes. “What do you mean?”

 

“Christ, I don’t even know where to start,” Nedley says, waving his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about that now, Haught. We’ve got enough on our plate, I think. Why don’t you go home and get some rest, hmmm? We can talk more tomorrow.”

 

“Sure thing, sir,” Nicole replies with a nod, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice, because she wants to pull Nedley’s last comment apart, but senses he’s closed that avenue of conversation down for now. “Oh, one last thing. Wynonna - Miss Earp - said if we weren’t gonna release Doc this mornin’ that she wanted someone to send word, and I said I’d tell her if that were the case…”

 

“He can go as soon as he’s awake,” Nedley grumbles, a smile on his lips. “We don't need to keep him any longer. It was only a formality, havin’ him here. So, Wynonna came after all, huh? She’s normally here at dusk like clockwork if he’s not home by then, and she says it’s for the good of the land that she’s here for him, but…”

 

“It’s not,” Nicole says, smiling in return, casting a look back to Doc. “I got that impression good and strong last night myself.”

 

“They’ll get their act together,” Nedley says with a look that speaks to the wistfulness of unrealised love. “Or Wynonna will, one day or another. I know she will. You might find you help with that without meanin’ to, actually.”

 

“How do you make that, sir?” Nicole asks, genuinely surprised, frowning at Nedley. 

 

“I hope you’ll not think it’s out of place,” Nedley says, clearing his throat roughly before continuing. “But… I think you’ll show her it’s not weakness to have someone to lean on, like I’ve seen Waverly already start to do with you.”

 

“I hope so, sir,” Nicole says, trying to sound unaffected by Nedley’s words.

 

“Get out of here, Haught,” Nedley offers after that, tossing his head roughly towards the door, handing Nicole’s hat to her. “You’ve done a good job. Get some rest. You deserve it.”

  
  


-

  
  


Nedley’s affirmation carries her like she’s moving on pure elation, a feeling that only intensifies as she nears Waverly’s shop, because Nedley had believed her, and he’d validated her, and tonight she gets to go on her second formal date with Waverly Earp.

 

There are only one or two early souls moving around the street, watering animals tied up, just ridden into town, or preparing to open their shops, and the sun isn’t up yet, but Waverly Earp is, and that’s the next best thing. 

 

She’s walking around the very back of the shop when Nicole reaches the front door, waving a little shyly, beaming when Waverly’s face breaks out in a grin at her appearance. 

 

Oakley sees her, too, her tail whipping around behind her at the sight of Nicole. She gets wound between Waverly’s legs when she makes her way to unbolt the door for Nicole, sweeping down gracefully to scoop Oakley into her arms before pulling the door open. 

 

“Good mornin’,” Nicole says easily, removing her hat and walking through the door that Waverly holds open for her. 

 

“Mornin’ to you, too, Deputy,” Waverly replies, her tone light like the breeze that had carried Nicole here. “I think someone here’s happy to see you?”

 

“Only her, huh?” Nicole says playfully, her eyes taking in as much as she can in the morning light. “I’ve gotta do somethin’ to change my approach then I guess, if I want  _ everyone  _ to be happy to see me?”

 

“Oakley’s not the only one happy to see you,” Waverly returns with a little smile that makes her heart swoop. 

 

There’s a string of tension that tugs between the two of them, tight and bold, that’s pulling Nicole inch by inch closer to Waverly, and she can see the same power beckoning Waverly towards her, too. 

 

She’s never had a problem with her own self-control, ever, normally able to keep it on a tight leash like an animal, but there’s something about Waverly Earp that makes her want to throw caution to the wind and act around Waverly in ways she knows full well are completely inappropriate. 

 

Because she knows it’s wrong, but all she wants to do, in full sight of whomever should walk past and see, is lean down and kiss Waverly for everything she’s worth. She wants to slide her hand along Waverly’s jaw and curl her fingers around the nape of Waverly’s neck and sigh when Waverly moves towards her of her own accord before their lips  _ just _ …

 

“Nicole,” Waverly says softly, and Nicole has the impression that this is maybe the third or fourth time she’s said Nicole’s name, trying to catch her attention. “Nicole, are you alright?”

 

She shakes her head, clearing the ghost of Waverly’s jaw beneath her fingertips to look at Waverly with a warm smile. 

 

“Fine,” she replies with a slightly coy smile. “I’m fine, sorry. I think I was daydreamin’ for a second.”

 

“You were?” Waverly asks sweetly, tipping her head to the side in the same length of motion by which she also reaches to take Nicole’s hand. “What about?” 

 

“You,” Nicole replies simply, because she doesn’t see any reason not to tell Waverly, especially not when she’s rewarded with the smile she is. And the blush, too. 

 

“You were?” Waverly asks, her cheeks pink when she finally looks up to meet Nicole’s eye, squeezing Nicole’s hand slightly.

 

“Of course I was,” Nicole returns with a more playful smile, turning her grip in Waverly’s so she can properly thread their fingers together. 

 

“And is this a regular occurrence?” Waverly questions shyly, her blush only deepening and her eyes fluttering closed at the feeling of Nicole’s fingers sliding between her own. 

 

“Oh, of course,” Nicole replies, her voice smooth and her body moving towards Waverly’s. “I’d lose count how many times a day, if I tried to keep track.”

 

“You would?” Waverly breathes more than says, her eyes going a little glassy with the realisation. 

 

Waverly parts her lips on the last word, her eyes dropping to Nicole’s lips at the same instant that Nicole looks to meet them, and it takes balling her hand into a fist, digging her nails into her palm, to stop Nicole from leaning in. 

 

“Hi,” Nicole says instead, her eyes finding the curve of Waverly’s lips this time as she desperately tries to rein herself in. 

 

“Hi,” Waverly replies, smiling at what must be a slightly lost gaze on Nicole’s face. “Did your night pass well?”

 

“It did, actually,” Nicole says with a nod, almost all of her energy centered around Waverly’s thumb stroking over the lines of bones on the top of her hand. “I met Doc Holliday.” 

 

“You did?” Waverly asks, brightening, leaning up on her tiptoes in excitement. “Oh, does that mean…”

 

“I met your sister again?” Nicole finishes for her, watching Waverly light up as she does so. “Sure did.”

 

“Doc’s wonderful isn’t he?” Waverly says warmly, and Nicole can feel the affection Waverly obviously has for him conveyed easily through her words. 

 

“He was,” Nicole replies, her voice pleasantly surprised, as she had been upon meeting him. “He cares a great deal about your sister, too, if you’ll permit me to say?”

 

“Of course you may,” Waverly nods, her expression soft at Nicole’s observation. “I’m pleased you were able to deduce as much. To be honest, it’s a little hard to describe their relationship without seein’ it with your own eyes.”

 

“I take your meanin’,” Nicole replies, her gaze moving to the window to ensure their continued privacy before shifting to settle on Waverly again. “It was nice to see them interactin’ a little. I imagine it’s the same when they’re at home?”

 

“It is, and speakin’ of which,” Waverly starts a little nervously, her head dropping halfway through her sentence. “I’m sure you’re probably exhausted from the night, but I wondered if you were still prepared to come out to the homestead tonight?” 

 

“Of course I am,” Nicole says quickly, before pulling back on her eagerness, only to see Waverly trying to suppress a smile at it. “I’d…  I’d really like that. It’s your home, Waverly. I’d be… well, to be frank, I’d be honoured to see it.”

 

“It’s nothin’ really,” Waverly tries to reason, but Nicole isn’t having a second of it. “It’s-”

 

“It’s your  _ home _ , Waverly,” Nicole says with a significance, because she’s not undervaluing what this moment means to her, and she wants Waverly to know that. “Even if it’s not a place you lay your head as often now, it’s still your home. And I’d be honoured if you’d allow me to visit it for myself.”

 

Waverly breathes something that sounds like half-disbelief and half-shaky wonder, and it makes Nicole sad how little people must have valued Waverly Earp her whole life, if something like this gets  _ that _ reaction. 

 

“I’d love for you to see it,” Waverly says quietly when she does speak, her voice not quite solid. “It’s not a place I like to be often, but there are a few good… there are a small number of things I’d like to show you.”

 

“And I’d love to see them,” Nicole replies with a stability that she hopes Waverly feels like she can lean against. “I won’t need the whole day to rest. We could ride out together a little before sunset if you’d like?”

 

“Together?” Waverly asks, obviously choosing to pick that detail out of Nicole’s sentence, and for a moment she’s worried she’s assumed too much, that the closeness of a ride that far might be more than Waverly is comfortable with. 

 

“I mean,” Nicole rushes to backtrack. “We can of course ride out separately if you’d rather, I just thought…”

 

“No,” Waverly replies, shaking her head as a new blush breaks across her cheeks. “No, I’d… I’d like that very much. Ridin’ out together, I mean.”

 

“You would?” Nicole asks with a slight tremor in her voice as the image of Waverly, nestled into her front, actually takes hold in her mind. 

 

“Yeah,” Waverly says a little coyly, dropping her head bashfully again. “Yeah, I really would.”

 

They both take a moment, lost in thought - no, the daydream - of the ride before Waverly comes back to her senses a little. 

 

“And sunset isn’t too late?” Waverly asks, and Nicole can hear the excitement in her voice now, just tempered enough to sit below elation. 

 

“Sunset is perfect,” Nicole says smoothly, her whole body warm with the anticipation of this evening now. “It’ll make for a lovely ride. Does it take long? I’ve just realised I don’t actually know how far it is.”

 

“Half an hour at a quick pace,” Waverly answers, her brow wrinkling as she considers Nicole’s question. “Longer at a slower one, but I don’t mind takin’ our time. If that’s what you’d like, too?”

 

“I can think of few things I’d like more,” Nicole returns, and she tries to reserve making too much of an advance on Waverly, wanting to respect where her boundaries are to something so new, but sometimes she can’t help opening the bottle on her charm. Just a little. 

 

She’s not even really trying, but the slightly different timbre in her voice makes Waverly shiver, and she moves closer to Nicole, infinitesimally, and Nicole considers that a victory won. 

 

“Will your sister join us for the evenin’?” Nicole asks politely, and as keen as she is to get to know Wynonna, she’s half-hoping Waverly says no, only because she wants as much time alone with Waverly as possible. “Because I can ask Gus for food for us all if you’d-”

 

“I’ll organise supper,” Waverly cuts across her gently. “It’s only fair, after you did so last time. And as much as I’d like you and Wynonna to become better acquainted, I… is it so bad to say that I want you all for myself?”

 

“Not at all,” Nicole replies finally, after her stomach settles from dropping. “I can say the sentiment is most certainly true for myself, too.”

 

“So,” Waverly says, her breath leaving her body in a rush, like she has a chest full of something she’s almost bubbling to express. “This evenin’, then? I’ll come by and collect you just before sunset?”

 

“That sounds wonderful,” Nicole nods happily, and she can see the grin on Waverly’s face widening further and further in something that looks like anticipation and excitement. 

 

“I can hardly wait,” Waverly admits, and Nicole can tell that she’s brimming with the same sort of tension that Nicole herself is full of. 

 

“Nor can I,” Nicole offers in kind, and she knows the time is nearing for her to leave, but she’s not sure how she’s going to make her feet move. 

 

“I wish you could stay here ‘till the evenin’,” Waverly says a little sheepishly, lowering her gaze before looking up to Nicole brightly. 

 

“As do I,” Nicole returns, before smiling. “Although I’m afraid I might fall asleep on the back of Lady Jane if I did so, and I don’t think that would do well for you or her.”

 

“True,” Waverly laughs softly, squeezing Nicole’s hand a little. “And we can't have that at all, can we?”

 

“I’d like to be present for as much of the evenin’ as possible, so I’m gonna say no,” Nicole says playfully before a huge yawn crawls it’s way up and out of her lungs. 

 

“You need to rest,” Waverly says, her whole body softening as she speaks. “Go, Nicole. And you can have me all evenin’, alright? I’m not goin’ anywhere unless it’s at your side.” 

 

“Anyone’d think you were tryin’ to get rid of me,” Nicole says with a bite of cheek, to which Waverly’s expression changes, but not in a way that’s by any means bad. 

 

She’s not sure what Waverly’s game is, or what she’s trying to do, but before she can ascertain it for herself, Waverly  _ shows _ her. In the same heartbeat, Waverly lifts up on her tiptoes, beckoning Nicole down with a little pressure on their intertwined hands, to press a lingering kiss to Nicole’s cheek. 

 

“Most  _ definitely _ not,” Waverly breathes into her ear when her lips lift off Nicole’s cheek, and it feels like she’s breathing directly into Nicole’s bloodstream. “If I had my way, you’d never leave.”

 

She holds the position for a second longer than necessary, by which stage every single hair on Nicole’s body is high to attention, and when Waverly finally drops to her heels, Nicole isn’t sure she’s still breathing. 

 

“I believe I may have found my match in you, Waverly Earp,” Nicole admits a little shakily, struggling to wrestle her heartbeat into submission. 

 

“And I in you, Nicole Haught,” Waverly replies, beaming at the compliment, before her expression turns mock-serious. “Now go to bed, won’t you?”

 

“Yes ma’am,” Nicole says with a laugh, unlacing their hands with some difficulty, not for any other reason but for the fact that she really doesn’t want to. “I’ll see you this evenin’?”

 

“You’d better,” Waverly sends back playfully, walking Nicole the few steps to the door and opening it for her to leave. “Have a good rest, Deputy. And thank you for callin’ by.”

 

“Any time, Miss Earp,” Nicole says officially, for the sake of a couple walking past the shop a few feet away on the road, before turning back to wink at Waverly. 

 

Waverly beams at the small note of attention, and Nicole’s smile doesn’t leave her face until she walks through the door of the Inn. 

 

“I’m sure most of the other deputies don’t come off a night shift with a smile like that,” Gus says with a wry grin when Nicole takes a few steps towards the front desk. “Haven’t been up to any kinda mischief already have you?”

 

“Pardon?” Nicole asks, confused for a moment before she realises Gus is teasing her. “No, no mischief, I just stopped in to—”

 

“See Waverly?” Gus finishes for her, her smile growing wider. “I never would have guessed.”

 

“How did you…?” Nicole asks with a frown, before Gus smirks and puts her out of her misery. 

 

“You’re smilin’ wide enough to split your face, Deputy,” Gus answers, raising an eyebrow as she gestures to the corner of her own mouth. 

 

“Oh,” Nicole says, immediately trying to school her face before Gus shakes her head, indicating Nicole needn’t bother. 

 

“It’s alright. I won’t tell a soul,” Gus says smoothly, before tilting her head as if sizing Nicole up. “Waverly tells me she’s thinkin’ of takin’ you out to the homestead tonight?” 

 

“She is,” Nicole replies, not bothering to try and hide her smile this time. “I’m gonna ride the both of us out after I have a rest today.”

 

“It’ll be good for you to see the place,” Gus says a little roughly. “If you’re plannin’ on stickin’ around. She’s not overly fond of the place, but I know Wynonna would have her out there more often in a heartbeat.”

 

“Perhaps she just needs a few new memories out there?” Nicole suggests thoughtfully, not blaming Wynonna for missing having Waverly there one bit. 

 

“Perhaps,” Gus returns, giving Nicole an approving nod, obviously appreciative of the comment. “I think you might be right, Deputy.”

 

“Oh, I met Doc last night,” Nicole adds after she can see Gus finish processing the last thought in her head. 

 

“Christ, what did he do now?” Gus asks with a frown. “Another fight, was it?”

 

“It was, but it wasn’t under the circumstances he told Wynonna about,” Nicole clarifies, eager to have Gus understand the truth behind the matter, confident that this won’t compromise the confidentiality she had promised to retain in regards to the matter with Wynonna personally. 

 

“What do you mean by that?” Gus asks curiously, her frown easing a little at the sides. 

 

“Well he  _ did _ find himself in a fight,” Nicole confirms, following up quickly when the frown deepens again. “But it was on account of him protecting the honour of Wynonna and Waverly against a few men in the bar that had taken it upon themselves to do them a disservice.”

 

“He what?” Gus asks, and Nicole can see her putting this, and a number of other instances under her own scrutiny. 

 

“Champ Hardy and a few others were braggin’ or something equally awful in the saloon, and Doc took umbrage to their speech, steppin’ in to defend the two of them, gaining a split lip and a night in the cells for his trouble.”

 

“Is this the first time that’s been the reason Nedley’s thrown him in a cell overnight?” Gus asks slowly, watching carefully for Nicole’s reaction. 

 

“I don’t know for certain, but from the way Nedley reacted, I’m thinkin’ this was the last in a reasonably long line of occurrences,” Nicole answers, her reply careful. “He’s really never told Wynonna the truth before?”

 

“I don’t think he’s told  _ anyone _ the truth before,” Gus says with a slightly amused tone. “I mean, I know he cares for the girl, but… he’s somethin’, huh. Wonder why hasn’t ever said anythin’?” 

 

“I suppose because if he said what the reason was, Wynonna’d want to know what they were sayin’, and I suppose he didn’t want to risk hurtin’ her feelin’s. Or Waverly’s,” Nicole replies with an honest shrug. 

 

“And here we were thinkin’ he was just a troublemaker,” Gus reflects, shaking her head. “I knew there was somethin’ else to the boy, but I didn’t know he was that much of a man.” 

 

“Guess you just never know about some people, huh?” Nicole says, smiling thoughtfully, before snapping her attention back to Gus. “He’s a much better man than I think most give him credit for, that’s for sure.”

 

“Well, perhaps I’ll have to have a word with Mr. Holliday the next time he crosses my path,” Gus says, her eyes narrowing a little. “See if I can’t get to the bottom of a few things myself.”

 

“Please don’t mention what I’ve told you,” Nicole says quickly. “I’m not… I made a promise not to mention anythin’ to Wynonna about what he’d done, and he didn’t explicitly say I was to keep it from anyone else, but…”

 

“Quit your worryin’, Deputy,” Gus says soothingly, and Nicole takes a breath in reply. “I won’t say a thing about anythin’ you’ve said. Lots of other ways to get that kinda information out of him.”

 

“I don’t doubt your effectiveness for a second, Gus,” Nicole says, laughing a little, because she doesn’t doubt Gus could get blood out of stone if the woman needed to. 

 

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Gus says, directing a good-natured scowl at Nicole. “Now, you should be gettin’ yourself off to bed, Deputy. Can’t have you fallin’ off the back of that horse if you’re takin’ Waverly out to the homestead later.”

 

“No,” Nicole admits seriously, and it brings a matter forefront to her attention. 

 

Because Waverly’s as safe with her as she would be with anyone else, but they’ll be out in the dark, along with any danger associated with that, regardless, so Nicole needs to ensure she’s as alert as possible.

 

“No,” Nicole repeats again, looking back at Gus. “You’re absolutely right. I’m not goin’ to be any use at all unless I’ve got a few hours of sleep under me.”

 

“Do you want anythin’ to eat before you head upstairs?” Gus asks, her voice a little softer. “I can whip you up somethin’ as quick as you like?”

 

“I might take you up on that offer when I wake,” Nicole answers, gratefully. “But I still feel well fed from that meal last night, thank you again. Doc and Wynonna helped me get to the bottom of it, actually.”

 

“You sure you had enough with Wynonna there eatin’ it, too?” Gus asks, raising her eyebrow in amusement. “I’ve never seen anyone eat like that girl does.” 

 

“Plenty,” Nicole says easily, noting the way Gus beams a little at the compliment of all her food disappearing. “You packed enough for four, at least.”

 

“Well, I knew you’d share whatever I gave you if there was anyone else there,” Gus says, watching Nicole carefully, smiling a very small smile her way. “Even if you only had enough for you, so I packed you a little more. Just in case.”

 

Honestly, she’s more than a little impressed at the fact that Gus has taken enough notice of her to deduce such a thing, touched by her thoughtfulness. 

 

“That’s very kind of you, Gus,” Nicole says softly. “I appreciate it, and I know the others did, also.”

 

“Least I can do if you’re out there fendin’ the girls off from the likes of Champ Hardy, and  _ worse _ ,” Gus says dismissively, but Nicole can tell it’s more than that, that she’s beginning to become a little fond of Nicole, as Nicole is of her. 

 

“You know I’d do that  _ without _ the promise of food, don’t you?” Nicole returns a little cheekily, to which Gus grins. “Although I won’t deny it’s a very welcome treat bein’ fed so well.” 

 

“I know you would, Deputy,” Gus says, and her voice is a little softer now, slightly affectionate around the edges. “Why do you think I don’t mind doin’ it? Because you don’t expect a drop.”

 

“That I most certainly do not,” Nicole replies, smiling a small, soft smile at the same instant a yawn ripples through her entire body. 

 

“Bed, Miss Haught,” Gus says in a matronly tone, shooing Nicole away towards the stairs. “I’ll have somethin’ little ready for you when you wake up, to see you through until dinner.”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole laughs, dragging her tired body towards the stairs, and she’s surprised at the level of her exhaustion, because she hasn’t had an  _ active _ night, but staying up seems to have been draining, nonetheless. 

 

The steps seem three longer than usual by the time she reaches the top, her body beginning to stretch with the desire to sleep. She doesn’t waste any time once she closes and locks the door behind her, unbuttoning her vest while she walks across the room so it’s hanging in her hands by the time she reaches the chair, draping it over, closely followed by her shirt, and then her pants. 

 

She removes her bandana from around her neck last, setting it carefully atop the other clothes before turning to rid herself of the last of her day clothes, her undershirt, swapping it for her nightshirt. 

 

It’s tempting, then, to fall heavily amidst the soft, welcoming covers on the bed, obviously carefully made by Gus while Nicole was at work, but she can’t pass up the chance to glance over to Waverly one last time. Nicole can’t see her at first, her view of the downstairs half of Waverly’s shop much less visible than the top part, but almost like she knew Nicole had just thrown her glance in Waverly’s direction, Waverly walks to the front door to unbolt it for her first customer, a woman waiting outside. 

 

She looks up to Nicole, whether having sensed Nicole was looking down, or simply hoping to see Nicole herself, and their eyes  _ meet _ . 

 

It’s something else, that moment of connection, and Nicole feels her stomach drop, climbing messily before swooping again when Waverly raises her hand to Nicole, in a gesture that is completely innocent, but to Nicole looks almost like Waverly is blowing her a kiss.

 

Her face splits in a smile, and her whole body feels like it lifts a few inches off of the floor at the simple sight, before Waverly is forced to turn and follow her customer inside. She gives Nicole one final wave before disappearing from view, and Nicole could easily spend all day watching, but it’s enough. That one small moment, it’s more than enough. 

 

Elated now, it’s easy for Nicole to drop gracefully onto the bed, and she wants to lie there and play the moment over again and again and again in her head, of Waverly’s smile and the smell of her perfume, freshly dabbed on her neck, and the feeling of her lips on the shell of Nicole’s ear, but the second her head settles on the pillow, her eyes flutter closed, and she sleeps. 

  
  


-


	12. twelve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Wild-West day, everyone! You survived another week! Yay!
> 
> We're going to start getting stuck into some more serious aspects of these disappearances over the next few chapters so just bear that in mind. That doesn't sound ominous or anything does it. If you have any questions about anything, always remember I have a [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigerlo_) (even if @haughtpocket is still gently training me on how to use it) and always [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) which thankfully I know how to use. Come say hi.
> 
> Thanks as always to @iamthegaysmurf for her tireless beta and fabulous friendship. 
> 
> Also. We're kind of halfway, my friends... x

-

 

Nicole wakes a few hours later, the soft caress of sleep ushering her back down deeper while her consciousness battles to stay alert. It takes her a moment to become fully conscious, and the second she does, the planned events of the night ahead of her wake her immediately. 

 

_ A date _ , Nicole thinks, rolling over in bed sleepily.  _ I’m going on another date with Waverly Earp _ . To her home. She’s taking me home. 

 

She glances briefly at the pocket watch that stays propped beside her bed when she’s not wearing it, absorbing the hands eventually, sighing in relief when they read four in the afternoon. Plenty of time for her to get ready before Waverly arrives to collect her for their ride out to the homestead. 

 

Rolling herself out of bed, Nicole stretches long and hard, uncoiling the muscles held stiff from her hours of sleep, before standing and walking over to the basin, freshly filled with water by Gus earlier in the day. 

 

Nicole would much rather have had the opportunity to visit the baths before their evening together, but she knows she’d be too pressed for time, and she’d rather spend the time with Waverly instead of soaking alone. She does as thorough a job of cleaning herself as she can with the fresh water, though, stripping right down to nothing before rinsing all over, feeling significantly more awake by the time she finishes. 

 

It’s warm enough in her room that she doesn’t shiver too hard while she’s looking for a towel to dry herself off with. She takes her time getting herself ready, putting on her heavier woollen pants, and her gun at her waist, but her lighter shirt, in an attempt to strike a good balance between the current temperature, and the temperature she knows they’ll be contending with on their ride back into town much later. 

 

Nicole’s about halfway through her braid, something done by muscle memory in her morning routine, before she stops herself. 

 

She thinks back to how much Waverly had seemed to enjoy seeing it out and long instead, and settles for binding it together low on her shoulder, a good halfway measure that’s still practical enough for riding, and isn’t likely to get in the way should she need to have her wits about her at any stage, but closer to the style Nicole knows Waverly had a preference for. 

 

Walking over to the mirror, Nicole buttons and then unbuttons the top two closures on her shirt, before nodding, pleased with her overall appearance. 

 

She winds Waverly’s bandana around her wrist, still nice and clean on account of the lack of riding she’s had to do over the last day, readying herself to walk downstairs and wait, before she remembers one final thing. The small bottle of perfume Waverly had gifted her sits pride of place on the dresser with a few of her other tokens: a gold ring and a necklace she’d been given as a child by her grandmother, but had never really worn. 

 

She’s used the perfume sparingly over the last few days, despite the fact that she can’t get enough of the scent, wanting to ensure she can draw the bottle out for as long as she’s able in the event that she doesn’t get another, but it’s important for her to show how much she appreciates the gift tonight, so she dabs a dot on her wrists and behind her ears, closing her eyes to breathe in the scent she marries so easily to Waverly in her head. 

 

It’s heavenly and soft and it makes her heart pound a little quicker, so much so that it takes her a moment to come back to herself, focusing in the sensation of her bare heels on the ground to help settle back into her skin. She takes a seat on the edge of the bed next, pulling her socks and boots on before standing with her palms flat on her thighs, brushing the front of her pants. 

 

She’s beginning to feel a little nervous now - excited, but nervous, too - and she wishes so badly she’d thought earlier to buy Waverly some small token to present her with this evening, resolving to make sure she picks something up tomorrow, instead, to thank her for what will undoubtedly be a wonderful evening. 

 

Casting one final glance in the mirror to ascertain that she’s still happy with her appearance, Nicole smiles, a little buoyed by the reflection looking back, before making her way downstairs, grabbing her jacket at the last second, not that she thinks  _ she’ll  _ need it, more than acclimated to the cooler temperature at night, but Waverly might. 

 

She takes one last look at her pocket watch, just after four-thirty, time yet to call downstairs and settle her rumbling stomach before Waverly arrives, a necessity, given it’ll likely be a few hours before she’s able to actually sit down with Waverly and eat. Gus is sitting at the front desk, thumbing through the ledger book in front of her, frowning at something she appears to be looking for, and from where they are, Nicole can also hear two men in what sounds to be a reasonably important conversation. 

 

“Evenin’, Gus,” Nicole says softly, so as not to startle the older woman. “Is everythin’ alright?”

 

“Deputy,” Gus says, and she’s not sure, but Nicole thinks Gus sounds both relieved at her presence, and surprised to see her, as though she had been deep in thought up to that point. 

 

“Is everythin’ alright?” Nicole asks again when Gus doesn’t answer right away, staring at something over Nicole’s shoulder. 

 

“Everythin’s…” Gus trails off before seeming to realise who it is she has in front of her, shaking her head. “Alright. We're all alright.”

 

Something’s most definitely  _ off _ , Nicole knows it is, she can feel it in her chest, beating next to her heart, only she doesn’t know quite what it is  _ yet _ . 

 

“Gus,” Nicole says again, in a way she means to be soothing, because she’s not sure why, but Gus appears to be a little shaken, and Nicole’s not seen her shaken the whole week she’s been in Purgatory. “Gus, what are those men talkin’ about?”

 

“Someone else has gone missin’,” Gus replies with a voice that sounds a little…broken, Nicole thinks, and when the words actually sink in, Nicole feels her stomach just  _ drop _ . 

 

“When?” Nicole asks breathlessly, feeling like the world’s been pulled from beneath her feet, because everything was fine…everything was  _ fine _ , and now… “When did… when did they go missin’?”

 

“ _ She _ ,” Gus says, confirming the question Nicole hasn’t asked yet, because two women could be a coincidence, sheer luck, but three missing women is a pattern. “She went missin’ last night. Daisy Monroe. Didn’t come back in from feedin’ the horses. Her father’s just come in to see the Sheriff while you were restin’.”

 

“While I was…” Nicole trails off, and she feels  _ sick _ , because  _ she _ was on duty last night,  _ she _ was responsible for the guard of the town, and on  _ her _ watch, someone else has gone missing. 

 

“Now you listen to me,” Gus growls at her, firmly. “Ain’t no bit of this that’s your fault, alright? It wouldn’t have mattered if it was you or Nedley on watch, their farm is an hour’s ride from town. What was gonna happen was gonna happen, regardless.”

 

“Why didn’t anyone come and wake me?” Nicole asks, her voice feeling strung out and her heart upset, because maybe Nedley hadn’t because he blamed her. Because he thought it was her  _ fault _ . 

 

“Nedley came here himself, and said not to,” Gus says, like she can read Nicole’s question on her tongue. “That you needed your rest, because he wants you good and alert tomorrow. And he didn’t want to see you tonight, neither. Said you were to go about your plans, they’ve got more’n enough people lookin’ tonight.”

 

“But…” Nicole attempts, but Gus is shaking her head again. 

 

“No buts, young lady,” Gus says sternly, eyeing Nicole warily. “That’s the Sheriff’s order there. And don’t forget I know who you’d be standin’ up tonight, too.”

 

“I wouldn’t  _ ever _ want to…” Nicole says quickly, because she’d never dream of standing Waverly up, but she could go and help once she had Waverly safely home much later on…

 

“And you’re not to stay up all night, goin’ to help them after, neither,” Gus returns, finishing Nicole’s thought for her. “You need rest, Nicole. And although you’re skilled, sure, you’re still only one person. You’ve gotta let them handle tonight, because believe me, they’re gonna need you tomorrow, when they’re ready to rest.”

 

“Okay,” Nicole replies, nodding as her mind tries to make sense of everything. “And he’s…”

 

“Certain,” Gus affirms confidently. “I’m certain. You think he wants to run you out of town the first chance he gets while you’re tryin’ to find your place here?” 

 

“No,” Nicole admits, folding her shoulders a little in acquiescence, and Gus breathes in relief a little, too. 

 

She knows both Gus and Nedley are right, of course they are, and if Nicole hadn’t arrived, they would be a man down anyway. And she knows Gus is right, too, that she couldn’t have helped that girl, not really, but that doesn’t stop her feeling sick with guilt, regardless. She tries to shake the thought from the front of her mind to focus on her actual plan for the evening, her mind and her heart turning to Waverly instead, and it doesn’t help completely, but the next breath comes just a little easier. 

 

“Have you seen Waverly this afternoon?” Nicole asks, trying to make herself calm. “Has she… did she say when she was gonna call by?”

 

“I’ve seen her, alright,” Gus answers with a smile that says she knows more than she’s willing to share. “She said she’d be here any minute now, actually. Why don’t you come and have a little bite before she arrives? Help settle yourself a little.”

 

“Sure,” Nicole says a little vaguely, her mind wandering back to her guilt, allowing Gus to lead her by the arm into the kitchen, bypassing the men still talking in the dining room. 

 

She sits at Gus’s direction at the small table, gladly accepting the sweet looking bread roll that Gus offers her. The roll is gone by the time Gus turns back around, and Nicole can only look a little guilty and shrug, as if to say  _ I guess I was hungry after all _ . 

 

The older woman comes back a few minutes later with a bottle of something deeply amber, placing the liquor and two small glasses in front of Nicole. Nicole gives Gus a slightly wary look, but doesn’t say anything, because as much as she needs to have a clear head, and not be under the influence of anything, she can’t deny that this might actually help. 

 

Gus pours two generous measures, one for each of them, gesturing for Nicole to take the glass in front of her, before raising her own. 

 

“To health amidst chaos,” Gus says clearly, saluting some unknown soul, before tipping her head back and drinking the shot down in one gulp.

 

Nicole wants to add something - a prayer, even though she’s never been a religious woman, or a plea, even though it’s been a  _ long _ time since she asked anyone else for help - but the words fall flat on the palms of her hands, so she raises her glass, and toasts to Gus instead. 

 

“To keeping family safe,” Nicole says simply, drinking her own shot, and Gus’s eyes glow with the sentiment in it, before she nods gravely. 

 

“A very good toast, Deputy,” Gus offers, nodding solemnly before turning to Nicole seriously. “You feel better in your mind now?” 

 

Nicole knows her concern is for Waverly in this instance, that Nicole will treat her to the evening she deserves tonight, but she can hear the worry in her voice for Nicole, too. 

 

“I do, actually,” Nicole replies, and she’s surprised by how much that’s actually true, because she  _ does _ feel better after her short time with Gus, significantly so. 

 

“Good,” Gus returns easily, a relieved and very small smile on her lips before they both hear a noise across the room that can only mean Waverly’s arrival. 

 

Oakley precedes her, tearing across the floor and all but throwing herself into Nicole’s lap. It’s a very welcome distraction, actually, and Nicole is busy trying to fend off Oakley licking at any inch of bare she can see, when her eyes find Waverly Earp. 

 

“You should really carry her when you’re in here, you know, kid,” Gus scowls at Waverly when she walks through the door a moment later, but Nicole knows her heart isn’t in it, because she bends to pat the pup on Nicole’s lap, and her whole face lights up. 

 

But Nicole doesn’t have eyes for that, she only has eyes for Waverly, because she looks  _ beautiful _ . 

 

She’s wearing a dress tonight, and it takes Nicole a moment to realise that she hasn’t actually seen Waverly in a dress before, only a skirt, because she’s so distracted by how stunning Waverly looks. 

 

The dress is a deep olive, and not dissimilar to the dress Nicole herself had worn on their date a few days ago, but different enough that it takes Nicole’s breath away. She stands at Waverly’s entrance, chivalry and something deeper in her belly drawing her to her feet the second Gus scoops Oakley out of her arms, moving back to give the two of them a little privacy. 

 

“Hi,” Waverly says airily, her eyes moving across Nicole, wide and a little glassy. “You look…”

 

“Waverly, you…” Nicole says with equal coherence, or lack thereof, her cheeks burning distantly at the way Waverly’s eyes move almost with a hunger over her presentation. 

 

Gus makes some noise of dismissal behind them, but Nicole barely hears it, because Waverly takes a step towards Nicole, careful not to actually touch her given the dining room is open just behind her, but with eyes heavy enough that their interest may as well be tangible. 

 

“Hi,” Nicole says finally, gulping around the lump in her throat, her eyes still not done absorbing the view in front of her. 

 

“Hi, yourself,” Waverly says a little coyly, risking a lightning-quick touch to Nicole’s arm. “You look…”

 

“So do you,” Nicole replies dumbly, but sweetly, in return, and they both stand there in silence for a moment, eyes bright and alert and ravenous, before Gus clears her throat. 

 

“You’d better get goin’ if you want to catch the last of the light,” Gus says from behind them, and Nicole can hear the amusement in her voice, even if she can’t actually  _ see _ her. 

 

“Of course,” Nicole says quickly, nodding, turning to Gus to acknowledge her. “Waverly, are you ready to make our way?”

 

“When you are,” Waverly says sweetly, smiling warmly at Nicole before looking to Gus. “You sure you’re alright with her? Because I’m sure Mattie’ll have her for the night if you’re—” 

 

“She’s quite alright here,” Gus says quickly, and Nicole smiles at the woman’s obvious fondness for the small animal. “We’ll be just fine, won’t we, shadow?”

 

Oakley leans up, licking the underside of Gus’s chin, making them all laugh before Nicole turns back to Waverly. 

 

“Shall we?” Nicole asks softly, holding her arm out for Waverly to take, even though they’re inside, and it’s just an excuse to touch in a way that’s actually socially acceptable, but Nicole will take it gladly. “Do we need anythin’ else with us?”

 

“All taken care of,” Waverly winks, gesturing to the small satchel at her hip that Nicole can now see is loaded with food, before looking over Nicole’s shoulder to Gus. “Thanks again for—”

 

“Anytime,” Gus replies, winking at Waverly quickly, obviously not wanting to ruin some kind of surprise before shooing them out. “Now, get, the pair of you. Make sure that Mattie’s alright, while you’re at it, won’t you?”

 

Nicole feels the temperature of her blood drop significantly, because she hadn’t thought about that, about the fact that they’ve got another missing girl and Mattie is so isolated out there by herself. 

 

“We will,” Nicole says seriously, and Waverly, perceptive as she is, catches the look easily. 

 

For a moment, Nicole thinks Waverly might actually ask what it is that’s just transpired between the two of them, but she doesn’t, allowing her attention to drift before pulling Nicole toward the dining room. 

 

“Good night, Gus,” Waverly throws backward, turning her body in Nicole’s hold so she can look back at her aunt. “I’ll come get her in the mornin’ to save unsettlin’ her later on.”

 

“I get you for the whole night,” Gus coos down to Oakley, making Nicole and Waverly both smile. “Good night girls. And you be safe, you hear me?”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole replies seriously, giving Gus a very quick salute before she rolls her eyes and turns her attention back to the pup, reaching over to the preparation table for a piece of dried meat. 

 

With Gus and Oakley happily content in one another’s company, Nicole can turn her attention fully back to Waverly, smiling as Waverly beams up at her. 

 

“It’s nice to see you,” Waverly says quietly when they enter the dining room, holding on a little tighter to Nicole’s arm, and Nicole’s about to reply when the men she had walked past earlier raise the level of their conversation. 

 

She doesn’t catch a lot, thankfully, which means Waverly won’t have either, because Nicole wants to be able to tell Waverly in a manner in which she can release the information such that it doesn’t prompt panic, in a way that she can reassure Waverly. Not being overheard by two slightly-drunk guests of Gus’s. 

 

It’s enough to slip her slightly into a melancholic frame of mind though, and she tries to shake it when they walk through and out into the Main Street, but it’s not so easily done, even in Waverly’s company.  If Waverly notes a difference, and somewhere Nicole  _ knows _ that she has, she doesn’t say anything, choosing to sigh heavily into Nicole’s side instead, and Nicole is quite happy to accept that. 

 

They walk down the Main Street, much quieter now, owing to the lateness of the day, and as heavy as her mind is, Nicole closes her eyes and focuses on the feeling of Waverly’s hand beneath her own in the crook of her elbow. The smell and quiet of the air, with her eyes closed, in this moment, they could be the only two people on the earth. 

 

Waverly seems content to focus on the silence for a little while, too, and Nicole’s never really had this before, where the silence is comforting and not threatening or haunting, and it makes her feel easy, it makes her  _ happy _ , and she thinks Waverly senses that, too. The end of the street approaches before Waverly gently breaks the silence, looking up to Nicole and biting her lip slightly. 

 

“Thank you for doin’ this. For comin’ home with me,” Waverly says softly, and Nicole gazes back at her in amazement for a moment.

 

“Oh, Waverly,” Nicole says easily, leaning into Waverly’s warmth slightly. “Thank you for invitin’ me.”

 

“Can I confess somethin’?” Waverly asks, and Nicole can actually feel her nerves jump beneath her hand. 

 

“Of course you can,” Nicole replies smoothly, nodding in encouragement. “Always.”

 

“I’m a little nervous,” Waverly admits finally after a moment’s silence, and when she looks up to Nicole next, she’s blushing. “To take you home, I mean.”

 

“Why do you feel nervous?” Nicole asks, a little concerned, because she hopes beyond hope that she hasn’t pressed Waverly somehow into thinking or feeling that she has to share this with Nicole if she isn’t ready. 

 

“I’m just…” Waverly says before trailing off, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth again. “What if you don’t like it? What if it makes you think differently…? About me, I mean.”

 

Nicole softens, wanting nothing more in that moment than to sweep down and pull Waverly into a hug, but she can’t, even with the cloak of dusk around them, because they’re in the middle of the street, but she saves the emotion, intending to make up for it when they’re alone. 

 

She can’t touch to express how she feels about Waverly, but she can speak, so she tries that instead. 

 

“You listen to me, Waverly Earp,” Nicole says with a playful seriousness, drawing Waverly’s eye to her own. “Nothin’ short of you turnin’ into another person is goin’ to change that, you hear me? Lord, you could be runnin’ an opium den out there and I’d still probably feel the same.”

 

“Really?” Waverly breathes, and the relief is palpable, almost enough for Nicole to reach out and touch. 

 

“Truly,” Nicole says easily, and Waverly beams a little brighter, lifting her head up higher at that realisation, too. 

 

“I wish…” Waverly says to her then, turning her body into Nicole’s a little more, properly folding herself into Nicole’s side. 

 

She’s looking at Nicole’s lips in a way that makes Nicole think she understands  _ exactly _ what Waverly wants to say - wants to do, but can’t - and it drives everything from her mind and dries her throat…

 

…until she catches another  **MISSING** poster nailed up alongside the other two on the last post before the street turns to Mattie’s road, and her pulse skips a beat in a way that makes her feel distinctly ill all over again. 

 

Waverly visibly notices that time, too, but she still doesn’t say anything, and Nicole could kiss her for respecting the fact that if she wanted to talk, she would have, for now at least. 

 

They talk about small things - Waverly’s afternoon, how Nicole slept - as they walk down the dirt road to Mattie’s house, nothing heavy or serious, obviously conscious of the fact that whatever they begin to talk about is likely to be interrupted by Mattie in a few minutes. During the day, Nicole might have gone straight to the stables first to see Lady Jane, but with things as they are, and night approaching, she steers them directly towards the house first instead. 

 

A booming bark heralds their arrival, and Nicole can see the top of an enormous dog’s head through the window, shushed swiftly by Mattie, pushing in front of the dog to open the door. 

 

“Do you mind if I let him out?” Mattie calls to them. “He won’t hurt you, but he’ll make a din if I just leave him in the house.”

 

Nicole feels Waverly tense reflexively beside her, and she doesn’t blame her, because she’s been around animals her entire life, but the dog is intimidating, there’s no doubt about that at all. 

 

“I’m okay,” Waverly says beside her quietly, holding on a little tighter to Nicole’s arm in a motion that she doesn’t mind whatsoever. “I’m just… I haven’t been around big dogs a lot. We had smaller ones, growin’ up, and I loved them, but…”

 

“I can ask Mattie to leave him inside,” Nicole offers gently, putting her hand over Waverly’s in a gesture of reassurance. “She won’t mind. I’ll look after you, though, if he’s alright to come out. I promise.”

 

Waverly gives her a shaky nod that implicitly says,  _ I trust you _ , before she calls out to Mattie. “It’s alright, Mattie. Let him out.”

 

Mattie nods, swinging the door open, allowing the dog to walk out behind her, and he lopes on long, high legs towards them, all the defensiveness of a moment ago completely gone. 

 

“Not so bad after all, are you,” Nicole says, stepping in front of Waverly automatically when he walks towards them, effectively shielding Waverly entirely, but giving her plenty of room if she feels confident enough to step towards him herself. 

 

She feels Waverly relax a little at her back, relieved Waverly hadn’t thought the gesture  _ too _ overprotective, bending down toward him with an outstretched hand. The dog walks up to Nicole’s hand, sniffing it before promptly dropping to his haunches and rolling onto his back, exposing his belly, deferring to the obvious authority or  _ something _ that he must be able to sense on Nicole. 

 

She feels Waverly move next to her then, bending down and rubbing the dog’s belly, too, to his obvious delight, before standing back with her hands on Nicole’s shoulders lightly. 

 

“You call yourself a guard dog,” Mattie scowls at the dog, bending to scratch at his stomach roughly, too, before standing to meet the eye of both women. “Evenin’ to you both. This is a surprise. I wasn’t expectin’ you till mornin’.”

 

“I hope it’s not a bother to drop by,” Nicole says apologetically, but Mattie shakes her head quickly.

 

“Not at all, Deputy,” Mattie reassures them both, looking from Waverly to Nicole. “Not at all. I presume you’re here to see young Lady J?”

 

“I’ve managed to trick the Deputy into comin’ out to see the homestead,” Waverly says with a smile, looking to Mattie and then back up to Nicole, but Nicole’s mind wanders a little as Waverly does so, only coming back to herself at the sound of a change in voice. 

 

“I don’t think there’s much trickin’ to it, Miss Earp,” Mattie replies to Waverly in a tone softer than the one she uses for most other people. “I’m sure the Deputy is a willin’ companion.”

 

“Most definitely,” Nicole manages to return, but she’s a little distracted still, her mind replaying the image of the  **MISSING** poster, when Waverly’s warmth moves temporarily at her side. 

 

Mattie eyes her a little warily, but doesn’t call Nicole on her distraction just yet, locking the door behind her instead, and turning towards the stables. 

 

“We had a good, short ride today, and I brushed her down after, so she’ll be in good form for a little nighttime outing,” Mattie remarks on the short walk to the barn. 

 

“She’ll be fine to carry the both of us out all that way?” Waverly asks, looking briefly concerned before turning back between Nicole and Mattie. 

 

“I forget, you won’t have seen her,” Mattie replies, smiling at Waverly. “Wait till you meet her, Waverly. You’ll know the two of you will be nothin’ for her.”

 

Waverly walks a little quicker then, and Nicole can’t stop the warmth that spreads through her body at Waverly’s obvious excitement to see her oldest friend. She breaks away from Nicole’s arm after a moment, walking ahead, looking back to them, grinning brightly. 

 

“Everythin alright, Deputy?” Mattie asks quietly when Waverly is  _ just _ out of earshot. “Has somethin’ happened, or your nerves gettin’ the better of you?”

 

“Is it that obvious?” Nicole sighs, disappointed in herself that she hasn’t been more discreet with her worry. 

 

“Not overly, no,” Mattie reassures her, watching Waverly push through the barn door easily, not bothering to wait for them. “Although, Miss Earp is bound to pick up on it, if she hasn’t already, with the number of times she looks at you every minute.”

 

“There’s been a third disappearance,” Nicole says simply, coming to a stop just outside the stables, casting a glance to see Waverly near Lady Jane’s stall. “Another woman. That’s not a coincidence, Mattie. It  _ can’t _ be.”

 

“Jesus Christ,” Mattie curses, stubbing her toe on the dirt when she stops still. 

 

“You’ll make sure you’re extra vigilant, won’t you?” Nicole says seriously. “And if there’s anythin’ that bothers you, ride hard for town, come to the Inn, alright. Gus’ll find a bed for you.”

 

“I’m not gonna let nothin’ drive me off this land,” Mattie says stubbornly, and Nicole glares at her for a moment until she relents. “But I appreciate the concern, Deputy. Really, I do. And if I do find myself worried, I’ll come in. For sure.” 

 

“You don’t have to be a martyr out here, you know?” Nicole says straight, not fussing around niceties, because Nicole doesn’t know Mattie well yet, but she has a distinct sense that this is the kind of women who appreciates a more direct approach. “You’re allowed to rely on someone else from time to time.”

 

“So they can let me down? The only person who won’t is the one standin’ in these boots,” Mattie says, gesturing to her feet, and Nicole can’t help but laugh at her stubbornness.

 

“I know,” Nicole says softly, turning to follow Waverly into the barn. “I had no one to depend on but that one for a long time, Mattie, but that person gets tired sometimes, I know she does, and it’s okay to let her rest.”

 

Nicole doesn’t wait for Mattie to answer before following Waverly into the barn, her heart swelling at the sight of Waverly patting Lady Jane’s neck softly, running her hand smoothly down to the horse’s shoulders.

 

“I was worried Waverly wouldn’t take to her, or she to Waverly, but…” Nicole says, trailing off, watching as Waverly takes Lady Jane’s muzzle in her hands, leaning her forehead to the top of the horse’s forehead. 

 

“I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem,” Mattie finishes for her, laughing softly before whistling, obviously a little impressed at Waverly’s courage in approaching the impressively sized animal. 

 

Nicole can see Waverly close her eyes and whisper something almost silently to Lady Jane before releasing a heavy breath, and pulling back slightly to look at Mattie and Nicole as they approach. 

 

“She’s beautiful, Nicole,” Waverly says in awe of her horse, and Nicole falls effortlessly, even deeper, into adoration with her. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a horse so lovely.”

 

Waverly turns away from Lady Jane slightly to address Nicole and Mattie, her hand slipping from the horse’s muzzle, and before any of the can say anything else, Lady Jane headbutts Waverly gently, as if upset the affection has stopped. 

 

“I think she might be of the same mind,” Nicole says sweetly, eyes for Waverly and Waverly alone, as she walks towards the stall. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her warm to someone so quick, save maybe Mattie. But I think that’s only ‘cause she’d figured out where her meals were gonna come from the second they met one another.”

 

“I resent that, Deputy,” Mattie replies, with mock-hurt, moving away as Gus had, to give the two of them a moment alone with Lady Jane.

 

“You think she likes me?” Waverly asks nervously, looking from Nicole to the horse, and then back again. “How?”

 

“I  _ know _ she likes you,” Nicole affirms, taking a step closer into the shadow of Waverly’s body. “And I know that because we have been friends for a very long time, she and I.” 

 

“Really?” Waverly asks, blushing a little, moving forward a breath in answer of Nicole’s compliment. 

 

“Truly,” Nicole returns easily, grinning at Waverly’s smile.

 

“Do we need to do anythin’ else for her?” Waverly asks, turning back to glance at the horse quickly. “Does she need to eat? Before we…?”

 

“She’s already eaten,” Mattie confirms, turning back to the two of them. “Fed her an hour or so ago, so she’s good’n ready to go when you are.”

 

“Thank you,” Nicole says gratefully, moving around Waverly so she can pull the stall open and lead the horse out by the halter that she’s just slipped on. “For everythin’, Mattie. I’ll bring her back later on tonight, but I’ll try not to wake you.”

 

“No great concern if you do,” Mattie shrugs, before turning back to the both of them with a smirk. “Enjoy your evenin’, won’t you ladies? Don’t do anythin’ I wouldn’t.”

 

“So that leaves us with murder, or…” Nicole teases her before moving back to allow Waverly to approach the now saddled Lady Jane. 

 

“That mouth’a yours is gonna get you into a fight one day, Deputy,” Mattie says with a playful warning, pointing her finger at Nicole. 

 

“Already has,” Nicole replies, to which both she and Mattie both laugh before she turns to Waverly, giving Waverly her full attention. “Do you feel alright ridin’ in the front? Normally I’d take that, but…”

 

“Front is fine,” Waverly says quickly, her eyes flashing with something that looks like hunger or excitement, and Nicole feels her own blood pick up in response. 

 

She throws Mattie a warning look when she catches her with a smirk off to the side, to which Mattie just winks at her before turning her attention to another horse a few stalls away. 

 

“Do you ride often?” Nicole asks Waverly quietly, wracking her brain, unable to recall whether Waverly has already answered this question in the midst of their other conversations. 

 

“Not as often as I used to when I was a child,” Waverly recalls, placing her foot in the stirrup and reaching for the saddle horn. “Wynonna's a much better rider than I am, but I do okay, I think?”

 

“I’ve seen you ride, Waverly Earp,” Mattie calls from a few feet away. “And that sister of yours is somethin’ else on a horse, but you’re not too far off, either.”

 

“I’m always a little nervous to begin with, though,” Waverly tries to reason to Nicole, as if requiring an excuse for why they should ride out on one horse, and not two. “When I haven’t ridden for a long time? So I’ll still need…”

 

“I’m not goin’ anywhere,” Nicole says gently, placing her hand on Waverly’s shoulder. “Promise. I’ll be right there behind you.”

 

“You will?” Waverly asks quietly, and Nicole has the distinct feeling that she means now, but further beyond tonight, too. 

 

“‘Course I will,” Nicole replies, her voice easy, and Waverly positively beams in response. “Always, Waverly.”

 

She knows Waverly wants to do something, make some gesture to show Nicole how much that means to her, but she obviously doesn’t want to push Mattie’s accommodation of their friendship, either, so she settles for covering Nicole’s hand, still on her shoulder, with her own hand. 

 

“You’re somethin’ else, Nicole Haught,” Waverly says quietly, only just loud enough for her alone to hear. “You know that, don’t you?” 

 

“Well, I’ve heard that before, only it’s had a distinctly different connotation spoken by different people,” Nicole returns, smirking down to Waverly. “But I think I like it much better comin’ from you.”

 

“I’m glad,” Waverly says with a smile of her own, leaving Nicole with a wink before moving smoothly up onto Lady Jane’s back. 

 

She moves a little in the saddle before she finds a comfortable position, and Nicole is suddenly struck with exactly what she has to do now, and just how close she and Waverly are going to be for however long it takes them to ride out to the Earp homestead. 

 

“Everythin’ alright?” Waverly asks, her voice concerned when she sees Nicole falter. “Do you want me to…?”

 

“Just fine,” Nicole says quickly, afraid Waverly might start climbing down if she doesn’t pick up her pace. “You okay if I get up there with you now?”

 

“Plenty of room,” Waverly replies easily, gripping the saddle horn and shuffling forward to demonstrate. “See?”

 

Nicole reaches for the saddle horn to grab onto, sliding her foot into the stirrup and praying to someone or something that she does this smoothly, like she does everyday, and not awkwardly, just because Waverly is watching. The prayer must work, or perhaps luck is just with her, but she slides in behind Waverly as fluidly as water, coming to rest with Waverly’s warm back against her front. 

 

She’s not sure what makes her cheeks burn harder, though, the fact that Waverly is here, so  _ very _ close to her, the fact that Waverly’s hands cover hers atop the saddle, or the smile that Waverly presents her when she turns slightly in her seat to look at Nicole. 

 

“Comfy?” Waverly asks coyly, and she can almost feel the flutter of Waverly’s heart against her chest, because she can tell that Waverly’s trying to play this a little calmer, but the very faint tremor in her hands, and the hitch in her throat gives her away. 

 

“Very,” Nicole says, looking down over Waverly’s shoulder to the faint blush almost invisible amidst the darkening light. “Are you ready?”

 

“When you are,” Waverly says easily in return, leaning back into the warmth and comfort of Nicole’s body slightly. 

 

“Be safe, you two,” Mattie offers by way of a parting comment when Nicole clicks her tongue and gestures for Lady Jane to start moving. 

 

The slow  _ step, step, step _ , of the horse’s walk only serves to completely eliminate the conservative modicum of space Nicole had tried to leave between the two of them, for decency’s sake, and she should have known better, really, but it’s a shock nonetheless to feel Waverly so warm, suddenly pressed  _ everywhere _ . 

 

Waverly makes a small noise in front of her when they start moving properly, Nicole’s hands slipping around Waverly’s waist, beneath Waverly’s arms to hold the reins, and she’s not sure if it’s the contact, or Nicole’s touch against her skin when she takes the reins gently from Waverly, but the sound makes her pulse skip, regardless. 

 

“Still alright?” Nicole asks quietly, and she just catches Waverly nodding breathlessly, her cheeks an obvious pink now. 

 

“Fine,” Waverly manages to breathe, before she attempts speech again. “More than, it’s just… you’re warm.”

 

“Good warm?” Nicole asks a little hesitantly, preparing to shuffle back if the contact is too overwhelming for Waverly to begin with. “Because I can move if it’s-”

 

“No,” Waverly says quickly, but shyly, shaking her head. “No, stay, please?”

 

“I’m not goin’ anywhere,” Nicole replies, her voice soft and reassuring. “Remember? Not unless you want me to.”

 

“And if I want you to stay?” Waverly asks softly, turning to look up at Nicole with eyes that make Nicole’s ribs stretch with the urge to lean down and press their lips together  _ oh, _ so softly. “What if I want you to stay forever?”

 

In the days, weeks, months to come, Nicole still won’t be able to ascertain exactly whether her heart stops or not in that moment, in the moment where Waverly Earp gives her the gift of  _ forever _ . 

 

“Then I stay,” Nicole replies as if it were the simplest thing in the world. “As long as you’ll have me, Waverly.”

 

She feels, rather than hears, Waverly make a low noise of contentment, her eyes glowing before she bites her lip and focuses forward, and Nicole can’t help but beam _ , _ too. 

 

They make their way out of the barn, waving one final goodbye to Mattie, holding the larger door open for them, before making their way out onto the road. Nicole pauses for a second, realising for the first time that she’s not actually sure where to go, before Waverly turns around in her arms, a little sheepishly. 

 

“Sorry,” Waverly says with a small, warm smile, Nicole’s pause bringing her out of whatever daydream she had been in, resting against Nicole’s front. “Left. We have to go left. And just follow the road. We can’t miss it.”

 

Nicole gestures for Lady Jane to head in the direction Waverly had indicated, before leaning forward a little to scratch the horse’s neck. “Good girl, Lady J.”

 

The animal picks up the pace a little, only slightly, but enough to demonstrate that she, too, understands the importance of not being out in the dark for longer than they need to be, regardless of how pleasant their current closeness might be. 

 

“Nicole?” Waverly asks after a moment of quiet while Nicole is busy casting her eyes around their surroundings. 

 

“Mmmm,” Nicole says by way of reply, looking down to see a creased and slightly concerned forehead. “Is everything alright?”

 

“That’s the question I wanted to ask you, if I may?” Waverly replies quietly, and Nicole feels her remove her hands from the saddle to rub them together a little nervously. 

 

“You can always ask me anything, Waverly. Any time, okay?” Nicole says with as casual a tone as she can manage, reprimanding herself internally at the same time. 

 

Because she’s been upset at this most recent disappearance since Gus told her earlier, and angry at herself for that, and she thought she’d been putting on enough of a front that Waverly wouldn’t notice, but she  _ hasn’t _ , Waverly had picked up on  _ something _ , and it makes her feel a little sick with guilt that she’s made Waverly worry. 

 

“It’s just…” Waverly says quietly, and Nicole’s stomach drops, because maybe she’s changed her mind. “I haven’t done anythin’ wrong, have I? You haven’t changed your mind about comin’? Because it’s okay if you have. You could ride me out and come directly back. You don’t have to stay if you—”

 

“I do,” Nicole returns, interrupting Waverly as gently as she can. “It’s not that at all, Waverly. It’s nothin’ you’ve done. You’ve been perfect, and I’m so sorry, because I’ve been an absolute fool for makin’ you worry.”

 

“You still want to come and…” Waverly begins before Nicole nods behind her quickly. 

 

“Of course I do,” Nicole breathes deeply, and she feels Waverly sigh in relief against her. 

 

“Thank goodness,” Nicole says, sighing in relief, too, and they both laugh softly before settling against one another again, comfortably, and Nicole can’t help but remark at how well Waverly fits in her arms. 

 

Because Shae had been closer to her own height, even from the time when they were children, and they’d never fit comfortably on a horse together, one never able to get comfortable against the other, but  _ this _ , being with Waverly, it feels perfect. 

 

“Is there somethin’ else?” Waverly asks perceptively after a moment. “If it’s not…me… is there somethin’ else worryin’ you?”

 

The sigh that escapes her lips then is entirely accidental, and she just about claps her hand over her mouth, because she had wanted to wait until they were within the safety of the homestead before telling Waverly, and not on the open road, but she needs to be honest now, because she doesn’t want anything but truth between the two of them, not if they’re about to embark on something together. 

 

“I want you to promise me somethin’, alright?” Nicole asks Waverly softly, reaching forward to cover Waverly’s hand with her own gently. 

 

“Anythin’,” Waverly replies easily, fluidly, as though she had been waiting years for Nicole to ask that of her. “Anythin’, Nicole.”

 

She blows a breath out between clenched teeth,  _ so _ reluctant to threaten or ruin the shine of the evening, but wanting - no,  _ needing _ \- to show Waverly that she has no intention of babying her, like so many others in her life seem to have.

 

“After I woke up up this evenin’,” Nicole says slowly, sliding forward slightly to give Waverly the comfort of her body, smiling when Waverly moves back into it willingly. “When I went downstairs, Gus told me there’d been news today, that there’s been… that another girl had gone missin’. That she had gone missin’ while I was on watch last night. And I’m so sorry... I’m so sorry that I hadn’t told you before, because you might not have wanted to come out in the dark, I just… I was bein’ selfish, Waverly. Because I wanted to spend the night with you. But I’m so sorry.”

 

“Oh, Nicole,” Waverly breathes, turning around to try and look Nicole in the eye, while Nicole looks out into the growing darkness around them with determination. 

 

Her throat grows thick with grief and frustration and anger just thinking of it, but she’s brought out of her trance by Waverly’s soft touch on her jaw, turning, leading Nicole to turn her head around so that Waverly can meet her eye. 

 

“You have to listen to me,” Waverly says firmly, and it’s the first time she’s heard Waverly use that tone since she reprimanded Champ the first day Nicole had arrived in town. “I can hear you thinkin’ and blamin’ yourself from here, Nicole Haught, but that wasn’t your fault, alright? That was in no way your fault, or in any way your wrong-doing.”

 

“But, I should have been more aware,” Nicole replies, and she doesn’t know who it’s to exactly, but her voice is a  _ plea _ . “I should’ve known somethin’ was wrong.”

 

“Would you have blamed Nedley, if he was in your position?” Waverly reasons simply, kindly, and the argument falls right out of Nicole’s mouth, because she’s right. She would  _ never _ have blamed anyone else if they’d been in her position. 

 

“No,” Nicole says softly, shaking her head. “Of course not, I just… I feel like I should have been able to do more, to do somethin’, you know?”

 

“I do, actually,” Waverly says, her voice quiet, and Nicole feels her stomach drop, because  _ of course she does. _

 

“I’m so sorry, Waverly,” Nicole tries to say quickly, desperately trying to patch the hole she’s terrified that she’s just punctured in Waverly’s heart. “I didn’t mean…”

 

“It’s okay,” Waverly soothes in return, and Nicole knows she means it, that she’s not just trying to make Nicole feel better. “Truly, it is. I don’t mean to bring it up to make you feel uncomfortable, I just… I’ve spent most of my life goin’ over that night again and again and again, tryin’ to find some way I could have helped, some way I could have done somethin’ to stop Wynonna doin’ what she didn’t mean to, not for Daddy’s sake, or Willa’s, but for hers.”

 

She pauses for a moment, moving slightly so she can settle more closely against Nicole’s front, and Nicole glows at the not so small fact that Waverly must find some comfort there. 

 

“I spent  _ years _ cryin’ myself to sleep, tryin’ to find some small moment or motion to change, until Gus found me one night, huddled in the corner of that room you’re sleepin’ in, and told me that there is nothin’ I could have done then, and nothin’ anyone could do now, and that it’s a terrible, terrible thing to live with, but we do ourselves an injustice by holdin’ onto and focusin’ on things we can’t change, instead of lookin’ to the things that we can,” Waverly explains quietly, and the youth falls from her from then, demonstrating a soft wisdom that feels ancient and kind. 

 

And slowly, gradually, Waverly’s words start to sink in, and softly, gently, they begin to  _ heal _ . 

 

“I know it is a far easier thing said than done, but you can’t blame yourself, Nicole,” Waverly says whisper-soft, sliding her fingers between Nicole’s atop the saddle. “You just can’t. Because it wasn’t your fault. And if you ever start questionin’ that, remind yourself that you wouldn’t blame me for what I didn’t do, would you?” 

 

“No,” Nicole says quickly, shaking her head. “Of course not, Waverly. I would  _ never _ .”

 

“Good,” Waverly says simply, turning to face the open field around them. “Well then you understand exactly how I feel about you and your circumstances.”

 

And she wants to argue that there is more that she could have done, that her inaction is a crime in itself, but then she runs Waverly’s argument through her head, and as much as she does want to find a loophole, to blame herself, she can’t. It’s airtight. So slowly, she begins to feel a little calmer about her own guilt. 

 

_ Waverly is right _ , she runs as a mantra in her head to ground her.  _ Waverly is right, Waverly is right. _

 

“Thank you,” Nicole says when she feels like she has the strength to speak without her voice breaking, causing Waverly to turn in her embrace again. “Thank you, Waverly. It helps. More than I think you know.”

 

“It does?” Waverly asks, and the hope and happiness is  _ beautiful _ . 

 

“It definitely helps,” Nicole affirms, and she wants to lean down and press a kiss to Waverly’s shoulder, to show her how much it means, but she doesn’t want to push…

 

…but then Waverly leans back into her, purposefully and a little heavily, as if trying to emphasise the motion, and something in Nicole warms, deep,  _ deep _ down, and she thinks a gesture like that might not be so unwanted after all. 

 

Now that she has the wider capacity to notice it more, with less of her brain taken with worry, Nicole takes stock of how lovely it is to have Waverly relax into her, to have Waverly trust her enough to relax into her, in addition to the fact that they’re now very,  _ very _ close. There had been some distance between them to begin with, but there’s none now. They’re flush, back to front, and Nicole can almost certainly feel Waverly’s heartbeat  _ thump _ ,  _ thump _ ,  _ thump _ next to her own through her thin shirt, and the fabric of Waverly’s dress. 

 

Waverly is warm, almost pleasantly hot, from shoulder to hip, and Nicole is desperately trying to keep a handle on her wandering mind, because they haven’t even kissed yet, and Nicole’s mind keeps focussing on her own warmth, where it meets Waverly’s chest, and her back, and lower, too. Nicole knows she shouldn’t, but her control slips and her mind trips a little longer, and she imagines what it would feel like to have bare skin between the two of them, and not two layers of fabric instead. 

 

It’s so very intimate, this position they find themselves in, and Nicole’s ridden with others before, a thousand times, but this is different, because in those situations, there are still two very definable bodies in the equation, but here, now, it only feels like there’s one.  _ They _ feel like one. Waverly sighs in Nicole’s arms, and Nicole feels her own blood breathe the oxygen out. 

 

And it’s intimate in other ways, too, because Nicole is very aware of the bite in the air, and the way her body itself is reacting to that and having Waverly so near, and the change it’s bringing against her skin, and the fact that Waverly, so very close to her, with so little between them, can probably feel that change, too. 

 

And she’s about to bring herself out if it, she’s about to snap herself back into the here and now, when Waverly breathes something that makes her stomach drop. 

 

“Is it different?” Waverly asks quietly, and Nicole can feel her breath stop in her chest. “Being with a w—“

 

Waverly is halfway through her sentence when the wooden archway onto the homestead dawns suddenly into view, and they both still completely. “Home,” Waverly breathes instead, and Nicole can hear the familiarity present in her voice, but there’s something else there, too. 

 

Fear, Nicole thinks as her blood stops. She’s scared. Waverly is afraid to be here. 

 

“Home,” Nicole echoes in a way that she hopes breathes comfort into Waverly, because Waverly might fear this place, but Nicole will see the end of the world before she allows Waverly to meet any harm here. 

 

Or anywhere else, for that matter. 

 

Nicole leans forward, closing her hand around Waverly’s, and her body around Waverly’s, too, and Waverly senses what Nicole is offering her immediately. Comfort and safety and a  _ partner _ . 

 

It’s not big or grand, but something about the homestead commands power, and Nicole finds herself a little in awe as they ride up to the house. The property is surprisingly well kept, considering it’s only Wynonna and Doc managing the affairs here, but Nicole imagines it would be a point of pride for Doc in keeping the place as tidy and as nice as he could for Wynonna’s sake, so she has something to be proud of, in a way that she probably hasn’t ever had before. 

 

Nicole can see the faint glow of a few lit lamps, but there aren’t any dogs barking or signs of life inside, or animals otherwise heralding their arrival. In fact, it’s actually eerily silent once Nicole focuses on the noise, or lack thereof. 

 

“It’s strange huh?” Waverly says, answering her unanswered question. “There’s never any sound here, no crickets chirpin’ or birds squawkin’. It’s always been that way, for as long as I can remember. Even before Daddy died.”

 

“Does your sister have a dog to keep her company?” Nicole asks quietly, almost afraid to speak too loud, and she feels, rather than sees, Waverly shake her head. 

 

“No,” Waverly replies in a whisper, before laughing softly. “Although Wynonna jokes that Doc does the job of one just fine, half the time.”

 

“She sounds like she keeps him well on his toes, you know,” Nicole returns, smiling, pleased that Waverly seems a little less tense than she did a moment ago. “Are we okay to ride up, or should we…?”

 

“This is my house, too,” Waverly says with a conviction Nicole wouldn’t have thought her capable of presently. “We don’t have to wait for an invitation.”

 

Without waiting for Nicole to reply, Waverly clicks her tongue, urging Lady Jane on, and to Nicole’s immense surprise, the horse complies, carrying them closer to the house. They ride up almost directly to the front door, and Nicole can see a hitching post to tether Lady Jane to, so she gestures subtly with the tension of her legs for the horse to move in that direction. 

 

When they near the door, Nicole hesitates for a second, reluctant to lose the heat of Waverly’s body, but aware that they can’t stay on the horse forever, as much as she may want that. She dismounts smoothly first, instantly missing the feeling of Waverly against her, before turning to help Waverly down off Lady Jane, too. 

 

Waverly blushes when Nicole holds her hand out to her, smiling with some breathtaking softness, like the movement of placing her hand in Nicole’s means so much more than the simple gesture suggests. Waverly’s hand slides into Nicole’s own, and neither of them can miss the  _ crack _ of electricity that jumps between the two of them, unmistakably electric. 

 

Nicole watches while Waverly dismounts with a surprising amount of grace for someone wearing a long dress, stepping down onto the ground, close to Nicole. There’s only an inch or so between them now, and Waverly’s hands hover over Nicole’s chest before settling high, above the line of Nicole’s breast. She glances up to Nicole, as if to ask whether it’s okay to touch Nicole like this, and Nicole can only smile a little dumbly in reply, because it feels like her heart has found Waverly’s hand on the other side of her chest, stopped-still beneath the touch. 

 

Nicole doesn’t speak for a second, because she’s not sure she actually can, not with Waverly this close and her hand _right_ _there_ , and her heart pressing against her ribs in an effort to meet it, but she doesn’t have to. 

 

Because Waverly breaks the silence and speaks for her. 

 

“I like this  _ much _ better,” Waverly says with a shaky confidence, running her fingertips down the front of Nicole’s shirt from collarbone, stopping just shy of the swell of Nicole’s breast, making Nicole shiver deeply. “Your clothing, I mean.”

 

“You do?” Nicole says a little breathlessly, as her eyes dart from Waverly’s eyes to her lips to the position of her hand, unsure where they want to settle the most. “May I ask why?”

 

“It’s more…  _ you _ ,” Waverly says simply, shrugging, and the gesture is so adorable Nicole almost crumbles beneath her touch. 

 

“It is?” Nicole asks automatically, and she’s only really half-paying attention to what Waverly is saying, because the sensation-overload coming from being so close to Waverly is beginning to make her head feel like it’s full. 

 

“Most definitely,” Waverly says while her eyes move to Nicole’s lips and stay there. “Most…”

 

Waverly’s voice trails off, but her gaze doesn’t. It lingers and holds and then she licks her lips, and Nicole begins to worry that she’ll lose the ability to stand upright after a moment longer. 

 

But then a flash of something playful crosses her eyes, and she pushes off from Nicole’s chest lightly, turning away with the fluidity of water, walking towards the door. She reaches the top step of the porch, waiting for Nicole to tie Lady Jane up before breaking into a grin, holding her hand out for Nicole. 

 

“Will you come in?” Waverly says simply, as though it were as easy as that to offer your life to someone. “I want to show you my home.”

  
  


-


	13. thirteen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Happy Wild-West day! 
> 
> I'm thrilled to report that it's not Monday here anymore, thank god, but it's good news that it's Monday there on the other side of the world where most of you readers are, because that means you guys get to settle into the background of the homestead and watch/read this second date unfold. 
> 
> As always, if you have any questions or comments you can always leave 'em here, or drop by [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigerlo_). And finally, a massive enormous thank you to @iamthegaysmurf for her incredible beta skills. You're a boss, friend. 
> 
> One final note. It's also kind of worked perfectly too that this is chapter thirteen and it's maybe a bit creepy... I shall say no more...
> 
> x

-

   


The front door is unlocked, and Nicole isn’t sure if that’s an indication of Wynonna’s relaxed stance on safety, or a testament to how safe both she and Doc must feel out here, but that doesn’t really matter for now, because Waverly Earp is holding her hand, leading her through the house she once called her home, and Nicole thinks it might be the most important moment in her life thus far.

 

It’s small, but beautifully kept, the house, everything clean and tidy and unbroken, and Nicole almost laughs at the idea of Wynonna doing such a thing, resolving to ask Waverly later if it was her or Doc to have a hand in that.

 

“It’s not much,” Waverly says quietly, leading Nicole from room to room, their hands still clasped tight.

 

“Nonsense,” Nicole replies softly, looking down at Waverly. “It’s lovely. It’s home.”

 

“It _was_ ,” Waverly says a little dryly, and Nicole is about to apologise for upsetting her when Waverly explains her feelings freely. “I mean, I think it was home, anyway. It was never a loving home, but there was love here. Wynonna always made sure I had that, even if I didn’t get it from anyone else.”

 

“What do you mean?” Nicole asks softly, her eyes wrinkling in concern. “Didn’t the rest of your family ever…”

 

“My mother was gone before I was really old enough to remember her face. I don’t know whether she died or left, Daddy never spoke of it, and Gus didn’t know, neither, so it was always just Willa and Daddy and Wynonna and me, and they…” Waverly says, trailing off for a moment, before Nicole tightens her hold a little, and Waverly hums with the reassurance.

 

“I always just felt like the outsider. Even when I wasn’t old enough to know what that truly meant. Daddy and Willa were always cold. It was only ever Wynonna who was kind.”

 

“What?” Nicole asks gently, slightly horrified, but not wanting to show her anger, lest she upset Waverly. “But, why…?”

 

“I’m not certain,” Waverly says, shrugging, leading Nicole through the kitchen and back around to the bottom of the stairs. “My bedroom was upstairs, but I only had one after Willa and Daddy… Wynonna made it for me, when we were old enough to come back out here. I think she was hopin’ it might’ve drawn me out here a little more when she moved back.”

 

“Where did you sleep?” Nicole asks, a little angry at what Waverly had to deal with, as young as she was then.

 

“Daddy used to make me sleep on the cot out here, but most nights Wynonna would come and wake me after Daddy had gone to sleep, and take me to sleep with her,” Waverly says simply, as though it was a normal thing to be neglected from such a young age.

 

It makes Nicole’s heart ache to think of Waverly as a small child, looking up to her father for affection and love, and receiving only indifference or anger instead. And it gives her an even greater appreciation for Wynonna’s role as a sister - and a parent almost, too; perhaps as much as Gus has been - because she had been there for Waverly when Waverly hadn’t had anyone else in the world.

 

“I’m so sorry you had to grow up with family like that around you, Waverly,” Nicole says softly, turning to Waverly when they reach the top of the stairs. “I’m _so_ sorry you didn’t have everythin’ when you were a child, because I’ve never met anyone who deserves that more than you do.”

 

“I had enough,” Waverly replies after a moment of thoughtful silence. “I had Wynonna, and I had Gus and Curtis, later, too. I had enough. And now I have you.”

 

“That you most certainly do,” Nicole says with a quick-skipped breath, because she’s aware, she thinks, of Waverly’s feelings towards her, but the affirmation that Waverly _wants_ to have her, is almost certainly worth more.

 

Waverly smiles shyly before tugging the hand still holding Nicole’s towards her bedroom.

 

“This is it,” Waverly says softly, stepping back to allow Nicole to look around the room in its entirety. “I don’t stay out here often, but Wynonna has made it… she’s made it feel like mine, when I do.”

 

It’s such a vastly different space to the rest of the house, and Nicole has to give credit to Wynonna again for creating a space where Nicole can feel Waverly would have found comfort in, even if she couldn’t in the rest of the house.

 

The most striking feature of the room, beyond anything else, and in complete juxtaposition to the rest of the house, is that Waverly’s room is white, painted exactly the same as her shop.

 

“Oh, Waverly,” Nicole says, a little stunned when she walks into the space, because it’s so different and so effortlessly lovely and so, _so_ Waverly. “It’s beautiful.”

 

“It’s actually all Wynonna’s doin’, believe it or not,” Waverly replies with a smile. “This is the reason the shop is painted the same colour. Because I used to come out here with Wynonna, and we’d sit and talk or sleep, and the white just felt…comforting, somehow? Soft? It reminded me so much of Wynonna every time I’d see it, and when Gus and Curtis helped me secure the shop, I knew it was what I wanted to do there, too.”

 

“Wynonna did this for you?” Nicole asks, her mouth slightly agape, because the room truly is beautiful. The walls are soft, and there are little bunches of dried flowers around the room, just like Waverly has in her room upstairs in the shop, and it’s by far the nicest room in the house.

 

“She did,” Wynonna replies easily, smiling sweetly at the thought of her sister. “She wanted to make a place that was ours, and not anyone else’s. I was worried she’d miss the old house, how Daddy kept it, because he was fond of her, but I think she needed it to change as much as I did.”

 

“She’s done… it’s a beautiful room, Waverly,” Nicole breathes when she turns back to Waverly. “Truly lovely.”

 

“It is, isn’t it?” Waverly returns with a smile, but even within its beauty, her smile is clipped at the edges, and Nicole can feel Waverly’s unease at being here. “I wish I could be out here with her more, it makes me feel dreadful that I’m not, when I come out here and see the reminders of how much Wynonna’s done to…”

 

“I know she understands, Waverly,” Nicole says softly, taking both of Waverly’s hands in her own. “I know she does. And I think you know she does, too. She wants you to be happy. I think that’s what she’s always wanted.”

 

“I think you’re right,” Waverly replies quietly, casting her eyes down. “But does that make me a terrible sister for not bein’ able to do everythin’ to make her happy in return?”

 

“I don’t think she would want you to,” Nicole says, her eyes softening at the look of despair on Waverly’s face. “I think she would want you happy above her own happiness. I think it would upset her more knowin’ you were compromisin’ your happiness for hers.”

 

“I think you’re right,” Waverly returns with a small smile, as though impressed with Nicole’s read on her sister after a relatively short period of time. “I still…”

 

“I think she’d want you to make up for it in other ways, don’t you?” Nicole says easily, thrilling at the way Waverly moves a little closer to her, not content with their current proximity. “Like comin’ out to see her when you can? Bringin’ more love out with you when you do?”

 

“I hope so,” Waverly breathes a little sadly. “I hope it’s enough.”

 

“I’ve seen and heard the way your sister speaks of you, Waverly,” Nicole softens further, lifting Waverly’s face by the chin so she can match their eyes, and she _bends_ at the way Waverly seems to seek and move with her touch. “She loves you more than anythin’ else in this world. It’s _enough_.”

 

They’re both quiet for a moment, and Nicole thinks Waverly is just going to lead them both back downstairs, but she doesn’t, she presses herself against Nicole instead, seeking comfort in her embrace. She fits herself perfectly into the curve of Nicole’s body, and Nicole’s arms move around her shoulders like a long-forged memory of muscle and something gentler, something like love, something that makes them both sigh with the relief that the touch of the other brings.

 

Nicole feels Waverly’s arms slide around her lower back and tighten, and the movement, Waverly seeking more closeness, makes Nicole’s heart beat faster, knowing she’s not the only one for whom being close isn’t enough. Because simply standing next to Waverly, being by her side, it’s wonderful, but there’s nothing Nicole has experienced yet in her life that bests the feeling of Waverly’s heart beating against her own chest.

 

Nicole tightens her arms around Waverly’s shoulders when she feels the Waverly sink further against her, relax deeper. Waverly makes a small noise of contentment that makes Nicole want to make the same in kind, but she doesn’t, because her breath is stuck at the lower part of an exhale, as reluctant as she is to move and disrupt the tender moment they find themselves in.

 

But Waverly doesn’t show any sign of wanting to move an inch, not a muscle, except to move closer to Nicole. She seems, in fact, content to stay there forever, if the world were simply to leave them be.

 

Fate seems quite fixed upon the opposite of this, however, because just when the world starts to slip away at the edges, leaving only the two of them, the sound of the front door swinging open heralds the entrance of someone Nicole can only assume to be Wynonna. Or Doc. Or both.

 

Waverly draws away from Nicole then, her arms slipping from around Nicole’s waist, pausing on the curve of her hips for a moment, _just_ long enough for Nicole’s breath to hitch, before they drop down to her sides.

 

“Shall we see who it is?” Waverly says, leaning up on her tiptoes to whisper into Nicole’s ear, closing her hands around Nicole’s biceps, before falling back to the flat of her feet and taking Nicole’s hand to lead her back down the stairs.

 

And Nicole has to admit, left breathing a little heavy and cheeks flushed, that Waverly might be very new to the business of courting a woman, but she’s no novice flirt whatsoever.

 

They see Wynonna standing at the front door with Doc close behind the minute they reach the top of the stairs, and Waverly looks back at Nicole beaming at the sight of the two of them. Nicole moves to loosen her hand from Waverly’s at their appearance, but Waverly doesn’t flinch or pause once, holding tight until they reach the bottom of the stairs.

 

“Hey, baby girl,” Wynonna says to Waverly with a warmth Nicole hasn’t ever really seen Wynonna exhibit except perhaps in part towards Doc, before she looks to Nicole, too. “Deputy.”

 

Waverly does extricate her hand from Nicole’s then, softly and reluctantly, to move into her sister’s arms, and Nicole watches with a fondness as Wynonna wraps her arms around her sister’s shoulders, squeezing tight before pressing a kiss to Waverly’s cheek.

 

“Nice to see you, kid,” Wynonna winks at Waverly before Waverly moves to hug Doc, too. “Been out here long?”

 

“Not long at all,” Waverly answers, leaning into Doc’s side for a moment when he draws his arm around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head with a deep fondness.

 

And Nicole had known Doc had been someone of importance to the Earps, but seeing them like this, she knows it’s far more than that, because Waverly doesn’t greet him like someone who helps her sister out, she greets him like _family_.

 

“It’s nice to see you, Miss Waverly,” Doc says warmly, releasing Waverly so she can take herself to Nicole’s side again, and Nicole can’t help but notice how natural the feeling of having her there is. “It’s been too long.”

 

“You saw me this mornin’, Doc,” Waverly replies with a smile, leaning a little into Nicole’s side.

 

“As I said,” he returns, smiling kindly back at her. “Too long.”

 

His eye flicks perceptively to the closeness of the two of them, before changing, and Nicole’s expecting maybe mild disgust or anger or confusion at his potential realisation as to the nature of their relationship, but all she gets is a simple smile instead.

 

“I know you’ve all met before,” Waverly says then, “but I’d like to introduce you all properly, if you’ll permit?”

 

Wynonna gives her a gesture that says g _o right ahead_ , and Waverly takes a little steadying breath, before turning to Nicole with a shy smile, to which Nicole nods sweetly, too.

 

“Wynonna, Doc, I know this is a little redundant, but allow me to reintroduce you to Nicole Haught, my…”

 

She pauses for a moment, and for a second, Nicole’s heart drops, and she’s so sure the pause is due to Waverly’s having second thoughts of introducing Nicole as anyone beyond the new deputy in town, but then Waverly looks to her, and she’s not scared at all, she’s biting her lip like Nicole’s noticed she does when she’s trying to think of the right word to speak, _not_ when she’s scared.

 

“... _companion_ ,” Waverly finishes with an ease and confidence and conviction in her voice that makes Nicole want to cry in relief.

 

Because she’s not ashamed of Nicole, and she’s not content to have Wynonna know her simply as a friend. She’s gone out of her way to select a word that means _more_ to her.

 

“Companion, huh?” Wynonna says, a little interested, and for a second, Nicole thinks she might see a different side of Wynonna, the defensive side, but then a smile breaks over her face, and Nicole breathes a sigh of relief.

 

She takes a step forward to shake Nicole’s hand, and Nicole meets it confidently, because it’s important for Wynonna to see who she is as a person, someone that deserves to stand at her sister’s side like this, and from the look on Wynonna’s face, she seems to be - thank goodness - coming to this conclusion herself.

 

“Yes ma’am,” Nicole says formally, unable to help the words or the sentiment, and Wynonna’s face draws in the most amusing frown in return.

 

“Call me _ma’am_ one more time, and you’ll be out of this family before you’ve even settled into it, you hear me?” Wynonna says, pointing her finger at Nicole with a playful threat, and they all laugh a little in reply.

 

“My apologies,” Nicole says with a note of cheekiness high in her lungs, before she continues the teasing a moment longer. “Miss Earp?”

 

Wynonna glares at that, almost as hard as she had at the _ma’am_ , and Nicole laughs before correcting herself one last time.

 

“Wynonna?” Nicole asks again, a wry smile on her lips.

 

“Better,” Wynonna scowls a little, pushing Nicole gently in the shoulder before turning back to her sister. “Companion, huh?”

 

Waverly nods to the question, stepping closer again to Nicole, and the worried look on Wynonna’s face - worried for her sister, and not angry at the revelation - turns _soft_.

 

“I’m happy for you, baby girl,” Wynonna says gently, speaking only for Waverly. “I think the deputy here has proven herself a very worthwhile companion thus far.”

 

“She most definitely has,” Waverly says softly, looking up to Nicole with an expression that she wouldn’t dare in other company, but here, with Wynonna and Doc, with her _family,_ she’s safe to.

 

And then she does something that surprises Nicole, more than perhaps she’s ever been surprised before. She reaches down, in full sight of the others, and takes Nicole’s hand. Deliberately, and meaningfully, and Nicole’s heart swells in her chest, pushing tight against her ribs, because Shae would have run and never looked back before she would have shown Nicole affection like that in front of anyone. And yet, here Waverly is - kind, thoughtful, extraordinary Waverly, who makes a gesture this big in front of her family without a second thought.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you properly, Deputy,” Doc says warmly, stepping a little closer to Wynonna, prompted, Nicole thinks, by the fondness between the two of them. “Welcome to the family.”

 

“We aren’t conventional,” Wynonna warns, looking at Nicole with a keen eye, as if checking to see whether Nicole is likely to spook, but she holds her ground carefully, smiling in return.

 

“You may have noticed,” Nicole says, gesturing to her general appearance and the fact that she’s dressed more similarly to Doc and Wynonna than to most of the other women in the town. “But I’m not exactly conventional, myself. I think I’ll gladly take a place with the unconventional, if you’ll permit?”

 

“True,” Wynonna admits, nodding in approval, before looking to Waverly, and then back to Nicole. “If my sister wants you by her side, you’ll always have a place with the unconventional, Haught.”

 

She feels Waverly beam next to her, and she can feel the happiness pouring off her, but it’s not relief, and Nicole surmises that it means Waverly was expecting Wynonna to give her approval all along. Confident of it, in fact.

 

“Thank you, Wynonna,” Nicole says respectfully, inclining her head in thanks, and she hopes she can convey just how much this means to her.

 

“You don’t have to thank me,” Wynonna replies easily, shrugging with a nonchalance that Nicole knows is a farce, because this is important to her, too. “Just look after her, alright? Keep her safe.”

 

“With my life,” Nicole affirms, nodding seriously. “With my life, Wynonna.”

 

She watches Doc watch her, his expression warming at something she’s not certain of, but then he looks to Wynonna with the same look Nicole _knows_ she gives Waverly, and everything makes sense. He can see a little of himself, the adoration, and the willingness to set his own life on the line for Wynonna’s, in her.

 

“Good,” Wynonna nods a little friendlier, smiling at the end of the word. “Now, is that your horse out there?”

 

“Sure is,” Nicole says a little proudly, smiling when she feels Waverly tighten her grip in pride, too.

 

“She’s beautiful,” Doc says, finishing the thought, and Nicole’s actually half-expecting Wynonna to cut across him, to come to annoyance in him assuming to complete her sentiment.

 

But she _doesn’t_ , she just waits for Nicole to answer with a nonchalance that tells Nicole they do that sort of thing often.

 

“Thank you,” Nicole replies, a little embarrassed under their compliment, before Doc sweeps in with further questions.

 

“Have you ever thought about breedin’ her?” he asks curiously, and Nicole can see his mind working as he speaks.

 

“I’ve had a good deal of interest in the matter,” Nicole says carefully, not wishing to cause any strain in the middle of an otherwise brilliant conversation. “But I’m afraid I’ve never been overly keen on the idea.”

 

“May I ask why?” Doc asks again, and he doesn’t look angry, only curious. “She’d make an exquisite broodmare.”

 

“This is gonna sound mad,” Nicole says, flushing and almost deciding not to reveal her reasoning, but then she looks around, and for the first time in a _very_ long time, Nicole feels like she’s surrounded by people who might understand her. “But I get the sense that she’s just not the foalin’ type? And I could never make that decision for her feelin’ the way I do?”

 

“She’s truly your friend then?” Doc asks, and there’s something in his eyes that tells Nicole that he _does_ understand.

 

“The oldest, in fact,” Nicole replies with a soft note in her voice. “She’s saved my life more times than I could count.”

 

Waverly looks to her with a sweet hint of concern before resting her head against Nicole’s shoulder, sighing when they make contact.

 

“Well, I can most definitely respect that,” Doc says, nodding kindly, smiling broadly at Nicole in a way that Nicole can’t help but smile back in kind to. “Now, will you be stayin’ with us for supper, or have you plans of your own?”

 

“Of our own, I’m afraid, Doc,” Waverly replies, still not shifting from her position of leaning against Nicole’s side. “I thought we might go for a ride out to the big willow?”

 

“Should we put somethin’ together for you?” Doc asks thoughtfully, to which Waverly shakes her head, but before she can speak, Wynonna slips back into the conversation.

 

“You haven’t got anythin’ from Gus in there, have you?” Wynonna asks, eyeing the bag across Waverly’s shoulder.

 

“No, I don’t, thank you very much,” Waverly scowls, hiding the bag further behind her back.

 

“Is it _yours_?” Wynonna asks, lighting up even brighter, and Nicole feels something thud in her chest, because that makes it sound as though Waverly had gone out of her way to make dinner herself, not simply allowing Gus to make it for them both.

 

“Maybe,” Waverly replies quietly, eyeing her sister warily, as if the volume of her voice will dissuade Wynonna. Which, of course, it doesn’t, until Waverly moves further around Nicole’s back, using her as a shield.

 

“No pup, no food, what kinda visitors do you call yourselves?” Wynonna grumps before Waverly moves, whip-quick, to pull a small wrapped parcel out of her satchel, throwing it to Wynonna.

 

“Don’t eat ‘em all at once,” Waverly warns her, frowning, but Wynonna’s already got one of the cookies in her mouth. “Once they’re gone, they’re gone. You know how hard it is to get Gus to give up that kitchen. I had to _beg_ her to let me prepare somethin’ for us.”

 

“You made us supper?” Nicole asks, a little taken aback at the gesture, and Waverly nods a little shyly in return.

 

“Of course I did,” Waverly replies, blushing prettily. “I wanted to make it a little special comin’ out here.”

 

“Well,” Wynonna says with a surprising softness, smiling knowingly between the two of them. “Best make the most of the night, huh?”

 

“Yes,” Waverly returns with a grin, dragging her attention away from Nicole to reply to her sister before turning back to Nicole. “Let’s. If you’re alright to head out?”

 

“Of course,” Nicole says, barely able to keep her excitement to herself. “Ready when you are.”

 

She feels positively full of excitement, come to that, at the idea of spending more time alone with Waverly. Because it’s a little different now, in comparison to their other date, because she knows where Waverly’s heart lies now, she knows she's interested, and that changes things _significantly_.

 

“You know your way out there in the dark, baby girl?” Wynonna asks Waverly carefully.

 

“With my eyes closed,” Waverly replies easily, smiling at her sister, before looking to Nicole again.

 

Wynonna and Doc move away from the door at Waverly’s affirmation, the two of them standing on the porch, watching as Nicole and Waverly walk back over to Lady Jane. Nicole unties Lady Jane’s halter before moving to help Waverly back up into the saddle. Waverly pauses for a moment, resting her hand on Nicole’s arm in thanks, but in part, too, Nicole thinks, as a simple excuse to touch her, before sliding smoothly into place on the horse’s back.

 

Nicole climbs up behind her the second after, her body humming at being so close to Waverly’s again, before casting one last glance to Doc and Wynonna, watching the two of them closely from the porch.

 

“Be careful, ladies,” Doc says one final time, before his eyes travel to Nicole, presumably to check whether she’s armed. “Deputy, I trust you’re…”

 

“Always,” Nicole replies easily, trying not to laugh at the notion that she would dare bring Waverly all this way without having some way to protect her.

 

“You know where we’ll be if you need anythin’,” Waverly says to her sister, narrowing her eyes. “Although, I’d rather you didn’t…”

 

“Don’t worry, baby girl,” Wynonna answers, laughing a little at the thinly veiled warning present in Waverly’s voice. “We won’t come and fetch you before you’re back of your own accord unless the barn’s burnin’ down, alright?”

 

Nicole sees the edge of Waverly’s mouth turn up in a smile, taking that to mean they can make their way off.

 

“There’s nothin’ we have to be wary of?” Nicole asks Doc one last time, eager to do her due diligence toward both of their safety. “No trenches or holes?”

 

“The property’s more than safe, Deputy,” Doc replies almost proudly, and at his confident reassurance, Nicole breathes easier, happy to set off now, too.

 

“Head around and behind the house,” Waverly says by way of explanation, smiling at Nicole before setting comfortably against her again.

 

“Is it very far?” Nicole asks, peering out into the darkness, allowing the horse to set her own heading, trusting Lady Jane to navigate a safe path for them given she can’t see the terrain well enough.

 

“A ten-minute ride, perhaps?” Waverly replies, breathing deeply in a way that Nicole can feel echoed against her own chest. “Not overly far, just far enough that Wynonna won’t be tempted to come out and find us, but close enough that I used to run barefoot to it as a child.”

 

“Why would she do that?” Nicole asks a little curiously, her brow furrowing. “Does she not trust me?”

 

“Oh, it’s not that at all,” Waverly says in return, shaking her head. “If she didn’t trust you, she’d never have let us leave the house. The fact that she has says she trusts you enormously, she’s just… I think she just wants me to be happy?”

 

“And her way of knowin’ is to snoop?” Nicole asks with a note of amusement in her voice.

 

“Naturally,” Waverly replies, laughing a little in return. “She’s just been the only one lookin’ out for me with two eyes in a very long time, besides Curtis and Gus, you understand? She’s… we’re very close because of it.”

 

“I think it’s very sweet,” Nicole says kindly, leaning down to catch Waverly’s eye. “I wish I had someone half as concerned about my well-bein’ as you do with Wynonna.”

 

“So, you’ve never really had that?” Waverly asks quietly, shifting to look at Nicole, and Nicole can see the hurt there on Waverly’s face on her behalf. “You’ve never had someone lookin’ out for you, since your parents…”

 

“Not _nobody_ ,” Nicole says, not wishing Waverly to think her absolutely destitute in matters of concern. “I’ve always been lucky havin’ good Sheriffs to work under, they’ve certainly cared for my well-bein’, and there are always a number of people in the towns I’ve worked in that look out for me.”

 

“But you’ve never had one specific person?” Waverly asks, and Nicole understands what she’s asking, because she’s worried about Nicole’s loneliness, it would appear, but she’s asking, too, if there’s ever been anyone else. Perhaps not a lover, because Nicole has already told Waverly there’s only ever seriously been Shae in her life, but Nicole thinks she’s asking if there’s ever been anyone else _special_.

 

Someone perhaps not a lover, but a _could_ \- _be_ lover, if things had been different.

 

“Not since I left my hometown,” Nicole answers easily, and she feels Waverly sigh against her in relief, and grief, too, for Nicole, and for how very alone she’s had to be for such a long time. “And even then, I don’t think I really had anyone? I don’t think Shae was ever really mine, in that sense?”

 

“Oh, Nicole,” Waverly breathes in reply. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry you’ve had to be alone for so many years. It’s a silly thing to wish for, because we're here together now and such things simply aren’t possible, but I wish I could have been there earlier for you. Or I wish _someone_ had been there for you earlier.”

 

“I don’t mean to seek your sympathy,” Nicole says, not wishing to bring down the tone of the evening. “I’m more than okay, Waverly, I promise. I’m lucky to have had a few very kind people over the years keep an eye on me.”

 

“But…” Waverly starts before trailing off, obviously not quite sure how she wants to finish her sentence. “Hasn’t it been… have you been lonely?”

 

Nicole’s heart twists a little at the note of despair in Waverly’s voice, like she’s truly and so _terribly_ concerned.

 

“At times,” Nicole says simply, because she has been occasionally, so lonely she hadn’t been sure there really were other people here on the same patch of dirt as she was, or whether they’d all only been spectres, or figments of her imagination. “At times, but I’ve always kept myself busy. I’ve always thrown myself into my work, and it’s made me a good law woman, I think? Besides, I’m sure my own loneliness is nothin’ against what you’ve had to endure. I’m sure it’s a drop in a very large pond.”

 

Waverly’s about to reply then - Nicole can feel her inhale and ready herself to speak - when she stops, and Nicole looks up, tensed and coiled like a spring, until the sight of a massive willow tree fills her vision. It’s enormous, even in the dark, and Nicole’s own breath catches in her throat. It’s so big, in fact, that it’s difficult to catch the entire outline in her line of sight without turning to accommodate more of it.

 

“We’re here,” Waverly breathes a sigh that sounds like _we’re home_ instead, and Nicole, for some inexplicable reason, feels her own heart relax, too.

 

Nicole walks Lady Jane close to the trunk of the tree before leaning down to speak to Waverly. “Is here alright? Or would you rather be at the edge of the canopy?”

 

“Here’s perfect,” Waverly beams, her smile clear even in the dim light of the almost nonexistent moon. “I’ll show you why once we get settled.”

 

Nicole dismounts at Waverly’s happiness with their spot before turning to help Waverly down, too, her heart thudding messily in her chest when Waverly links their fingers together after her feet hit the ground, not willing to let Nicole go.

 

“I’ve got a blanket in Lady Jane’s saddlebag, if you want to show me where you’d like to sit?” Nicole asks, looking around in the darkness, unable to identify any one location that looks better than another, like Waverly seems to be able to see.

 

“Do you require your hand back?” Waverly questions playfully, a pretty smirk gracing her features. “Because if you do, I can probably survive _without_ a blanket.”

 

“I can do it one-handed,” Nicole replies, more than a little pleased that the number of times she’s had to do this with her gun trained up has finally come into use.

 

Waverly is about to loosen her grip anyway, but Nicole makes a little game of it, demonstrating how easily she can actually retrieve the blanket, with minimal awkwardness, before passing the item to a highly amused Waverly. She pats Lady Jane on her flank once she’s handed the blanket off, gesturing for the horse to graze freely while they attend to their supper.

 

“A woman of many talents, huh?” Waverly says, grinning widely, leading Nicole to an obviously chosen spot once Lady Jane settles on a patch of grass close by.

 

“You haven’t seen anythin’ yet,” Nicole returns with a smile of her own, and she doesn’t mean it in any particular way, although she can’t deny the satisfaction that bubbles in her stomach at Waverly’s blush, clear even in the darkness.

 

Nicole is a little amazed, too, at the connection clear and present in the dark between the two of them, because she feels it all the time, but out here, in the absence of sound and company and disruption, she can _feel_ Waverly in the darkness next to her, a tangible presence that her heart can sense, even without the help of her sight.

 

When Waverly looks back to her, Nicole can feel her mind still fixed on her last comment, and the vision fills her mind of Waverly leaning over on the yet-to-be-spread-out blanket, climbing into her lap before Nicole rolls them seamlessly, filling the space between Waverly’s thighs with her own soft weight, kissing and kissing and _kissing_ until neither of them can breathe.

 

But she shakes her head, because it’s not proper to think of Waverly like that, not yet, not until Waverly demonstrates to her that it is, not until after Nicole has pressed her lips to Waverly’s own and felt life _stop_ beneath them.

 

She’s been so fixed on not pushing Waverly, on letting Waverly set the pace, but when Nicole comes back to herself, when she sees the way Waverly is watching her lips —in a fashion that Nicole can only deduce means Waverly has the same thing on her mind that Nicole does— she realizes that the first step, actually kissing Waverly, might come sooner than Nicole had been expecting.

 

That it _could_ , if Waverly appears to maybe permit, happen this evening.

 

Once that thought settles into her head, Nicole truly can’t tell if the overwhelming emotion in her brain is excitement or nervousness, and when she finally looks _at_ Waverly, instead of _into_ Waverly, she finds what she thinks to be a similar battle being waged in Waverly’s own head.

 

“Is this spot okay?” Waverly asks, and her voice is a little shaky, but not in a necessarily bad way.

 

“Anywhere that’s fine by you is fine by me, Waverly,” Nicole says smoothly, and she’s very careful not to push, but that doesn’t mean she can’t play on the charm she knows she has.

 

Nicole can see Waverly do something that looks like she’s biting her lip, and a stone drops in her stomach at the sight, her mind going a little blank, before allowing herself to be lead entirely by Waverly as she finds the precise spot for the two of them to settle.

 

She thinks Waverly might try and spread the blanket out one-handed, too, but she doesn’t. Instead she raises their joint hands, presses a kiss to the top of Nicole’s hand, and then disentangles her own, watching as Nicole stands still as stone, her brain trying to catch up with what’s just happened.

 

Nicole drops her hand gently down to her side, but she can feel the place where Waverly pressed her lips regardless, like a brand was held there, perfectly, _searingly_ , forever burned into her memory. Waverly throws Nicole half a devilishly charming smile before turning her back briefly to throw the blanket down and over the ground.

 

Taking her spot first, Waverly tucks her legs under her, sitting down before patting the ground beside her, gesturing for Nicole to take her place at her side. Nicole ducks her head a little bashfully in reply before leaning down to sit next to Waverly, watching carefully as she removes a number of small wrapped parcels from the satchel at her side.

 

She’s surprised by the amount of food Waverly removes from the small bag, but she’s more taken with the sheer sight of everything, because it looks incredible.

 

“Oh, Waverly, this looks…” Nicole breathes, taken aback by the effort that Waverly must have put in to prepare such an offering for them both.

 

“Edible?” Waverly asks quietly, hesitantly, suddenly seeming unsure, and Nicole can’t move to reassure her quick enough.

 

“It looks _outstanding_ ,” Nicole says, still trying to take in everything laid out for them. “Did you make all this today?”

 

“Gus helped a good deal,” Waverly returns, and Nicole can tell she’s only being modest, because everything in front of her somehow has Waverly’s touch to it.

 

“It looks… I don’t even know where to start,” Nicole laughs while her eyes flick from what look to be savoury scones, to sweeter cookies like the ones she had given Wynonna, fresh baked bread, to other small nibbles and treats. “This is a feast, Waverly.”

 

Waverly takes the final item from her bag, a small candle in a glass jar that Nicole recognises from the shop, lighting it quickly and setting it ahead of them, casting a faint glow across the two of them.

 

“I wouldn’t say _feast_ ,” Waverly replies modestly, not quite meeting Nicole’s eye. “But… I wanted it to be a little special. The first time I made food for you.”

 

“This is most definitely special,” Nicole says, looking over the food in awe, while her heart sings at Waverly’s thoughtfulness, because this effort, it’s for her. Waverly has done this for _her_.

 

“It’s nothin’,” Waverly returns with a shrug. “Really, it was only a few hours’ work.”

 

“A few _hours_?” Nicole utters, slightly taken aback. “Waverly, I appreciate the hell out of this, but you didn’t need to put that much effort in, you know that right? I’d have been happy with a few old biscuits if it meant I could spend the time with you.”

 

“Really?” Waverly asks softly, turning to look at Nicole finally, searching for the truth in her voice.

 

“Yes, really,” Nicole nods quickly, smiling a little. “Really, really, Waverly. I don’t need anythin’ at all. Your company’s kinda the prize, you know?”

 

“It is?” Waverly asks, but her voice has changed a little since the last word spoken.

 

It’s quietly hesitant now, like she almost doesn’t believe what Nicole is saying. Like it’s almost too good to be true.

 

“It most definitely is,” Nicole affirms, reaching to take one of Waverly’s hands slowly, so as not to give her a fright in the dark. “And if that’s not somethin’ you _know_ , then I’ve gotta get myself organised, because you should know that’s the case.”

 

“No, I…” Waverly replies, shaking her head and dropping her eyes, her hand closing more firmly over Nicole’s own. “I do, Nicole. I do. You do. It’s just… it takes some gettin’ used to. Bein’ around someone who’s so…lovely. Who’s so lovely. To me.”

 

It physically hurts Nicole that this is the first time someone has shown kindness to Waverly like this. Because it should be old hat by now, it should be something she knows back and front and with her eyes closed.

 

“I’m truly sorry, Waverly,” Nicole says with as much sympathy she can garner without it sounding like pity. Because Waverly doesn’t deserve that at all. “But you’re gonna have to get used to it, alright?”

 

Waverly’s face turns in a smile at the change of Nicole’s tone, from sorrowful to something lighter, beaming in fact, and she tightens her grip on Nicole’s hand, now in her lap, in reply.

 

“I don’t know if I ever will, but from you, _for_ you, I’ll sure try,” Waverly says with a playful wink, before turning back to the pressing matter at hand. “Now, will you try somethin’? Before I get fixed on the idea that it all looks awful?”

 

“I thought you’d never ask,” Nicole returns, winking back at Waverly before settling on savoury first.

 

She breaks open one of the rolls, smoothing a small knob of butter before taking a bite, completely unable to suppress a groan when the food hits her tongue.

 

“It’s alright?” Waverly asks nervously while Nicole feels like her eyes are busy rolling back in her head.

 

“Alright?” Nicole half-growls around another mouthful. “Waverly, this is incredible. You sure you didn’t lace this with somethin’ else?”

 

“I’m sure,” Waverly says, laughing in return, tilting her head adorably in a way that makes Nicole want to lean over and kiss her, right this instant. “I’m so relieved. I’ve been that worried all afternoon you wouldn’t like it.”

 

“Does it all taste this good?” Nicole asks a little blankly, because she’s almost overwhelmed with the idea that everything in front of her tastes like this, like it has some kind of sorcery weaved into it.

 

“I hope so?” Waverly answers nervously before Nicole stops for a moment to gesture that she need start, as well.

 

“You’re not gonna leave me here eatin’ on my own, are you?” Nicole asks a little charmingly, and it’s a thrill when Waverly shivers just slightly in reply.

 

“I’d _never_ want to leave you,” Waverly returns smoothly, and Nicole is more than a little impressed with her timing and wit.

 

They eat happily for a while, Nicole almost falling apart with every new morsel she tastes, asking Waverly about everything, which herbs she uses to flavour the savoury food, and how the sweet tastes _so_ good, before they slow and start picking at small bits here and there.

 

“Waverly,” Nicole asks when they both lean back, completely full and unable to eat a bite more. “Can I ask you somethin’?”

 

“Of course,” Waverly says easily, licking a few stray sugar crystals off her thumb and turning to Nicole fully. “Anythin’.”

 

“Before we got off Lady Jane, you asked me if I was lonely?” Nicole asks slowly, and she doesn’t want to upset Waverly, but she wants Waverly to know that she’s here to talk through everything, that nothing from her past will scare Nicole away.

 

That she cares about the things from Waverly’s past, in a way few people probably have before, almost as much as she does Waverly’s present.

 

Waverly makes some small noise of agreement, like she acknowledges having asked the question, and nods for Nicole to continue.

 

“Have you been very lonely?” Nicole asks softly, and she thinks she already knows the answer, because Waverly seems to exist in the small, introspective corners of life, as though she’s used to never having a lot of people to talk to, not beyond simple pleasantries.

 

And again, she doesn’t mean to upset Waverly, she doesn’t wish to make her think of her unpleasant past, but she wants to know _all_ of Waverly. She wants to know how and why she’s as gentle as she is, and as soft as she is, despite everything she’s been through. Waverly appears to think on Nicole’s question for a while, really truly think on it, before looking to Nicole with a slightly glassy expression.

 

“I think maybe…” Waverly begins before stopping to collect herself for a moment. “I think I’ve been lonely my whole life? But I didn’t know what it was until somebody else named it?”

 

Nicole feels her throat thicken at Waverly’s words, but she doesn’t want to interrupt her, to stop her heart mid-sentence, so she laces their hands together properly instead, nodding for Waverly to continue.

 

“I didn’t know it wasn’t somethin’ everyone felt for a long time,” Waverly explains, and her eyes meet Nicole’s for a second, as if reassuring herself that Nicole is really here, and that she’s not alone again.

 

“It was so deeply a part of me and myself, that I didn’t know it was somethin’ you weren’t supposed to feel. Because I’ve had a good life, in parts; I’ve had happiness, but there was always this thing _there_ , like a ghost in the room, that made me feel alone, even in a room full of people?”

 

“You’ve always felt like that?” Nicole asks, a little taken aback at just how significantly loneliness has played a part in Waverly’s life.

 

“More or less,” Waverly says, not nonchalantly, but factually, in a way that Nicole knows means Waverly is telling her the truth. “Well, that was until a few days ago, at least.”

 

“What do you mean?” Nicole asks, but her heart's already racing, like she knows exactly what Waverly means, but doesn’t want to have her hopes skip too high, just in case.

 

“I’ve had that feelin’ in my belly every day for as long as I can remember, but the day you walked into my shop, it just… disappeared,” Waverly explains, looking to Nicole when she does, her eyes breaking into something like wonder.

 

“Disappeared?” Nicole asks, her heart hammering in her throat.

 

“Disappeared,” Waverly affirms, nodding with blissful softness. “Completely, like it hadn’t been there a day in my life. Replaced with something that I think… I think is hope?”

 

“Hope?” Nicole asks tentatively, moving a little nearer to Waverly, as if Waverly were beckoning her closer with the angle of her head. “What kind of hope?”

 

“I don’t know,” Waverly answers, looking to Nicole. “But it was… the second I saw you, before I even met you, I think I felt like you’d be someone to me. Like somehow, if you were around, you’d never let me feel lonely again?”

 

“I’ll _never_ let you feel lonely again,” Nicole says with a note of steel in her voice. “I promise you, Waverly. You’ll never feel alone again while I’m around. And the only thing that’ll send me away is you. Only you.”

 

“You promise?” Waverly asks, swallowing thickly, and inching a little closer to Nicole on the blanket, too. “Because I don’t think I can go back, not now that you’ve shown me what it’s like _not_ to be.”

 

“I promise,” Nicole replies silkily, and she moves then, raising one of her hands to tuck a loose piece of hair behind Waverly’s ear, not missing at all the way Waverly’s breath _catches_.

 

They were close before, but they’re only an inch apart now, and Nicole can feel Waverly’s breath soft on her cheek, slightly pepperminty from the last thing she’d eaten, and she’s been waiting for a signal, some sign that it’s okay to shift this thing between them from close friendship to something more, for a sign that it’s okay to kiss Waverly, and she thinks, she _thinks_ the way Waverly’s eyes keep dropping to her lips is maybe, possibly, potentially, that sign.

 

And it’s far from the first time she’s kissed another woman but something about this feels so uniquely new, that it’s making Nicole even more nervous than she already is. She’s heart-stoppingly afraid, but she wants this more than her nerves, she wants Waverly more than her fear, so she moves her hand slightly, running her thumb along the line of Waverly’s jaw, sliding her fingers around the nape of Waverly’s neck.

 

Waverly’s eyes flutter closed and she takes in a breath and _holds_ it, waiting for Nicole to finally close that gap, which Nicole does willingly, slowly but smoothly, allowing Waverly more than enough time to stop Nicole or move away, but she doesn’t.

 

She moves forward instead.

 

Nicole’s a breath away now, can almost taste the peppermint, can hear Waverly’s heartbeat, and they’re almost, almost there, they’re so, so close…

 

…and then Nicole hears a twig crack, and they both whip their heads around, searching for the source of the noise.

 

Nicole’s on a knife's edge as her eyes search the darkness, her chest aching with the loss of peppermint, but concerned, too, and alert, the hand that was on Waverly’s cheek now on the butt of her pistol.

“Can you see anythin’?” Nicole whispers to Waverly, her eyes straining in the low light to see any small sign of danger.

 

She can feel Waverly listening and looking hard, before Waverly’s form softens, relaxing against her.

 

“Unfortunately, yes,” Waverly mutters next to her, dropping her cheek into Nicole’s shoulder in exasperation. “ _Hi,_ Wynonna.”

 

“Thank god, I thought I’d never find you in this light. I promise my eyes are closed,” Wynonna says in the dark, and Nicole can just make out her form now, impressed that Waverly had identified her before she had. “I didn’t see anythin’.”

 

“Is the house burnin’ down?” Waverly asks dryly.

 

“It’s not, but don’t you think you should be a little more panicked to see me?” Wynonna says, a little offended around the worry along her brow.

 

“I know you. If somethin’ urgent was amiss, we would have heard you a mile away,” Waverly says perceptively, running her eye carefully over her sister, Waverly’s frown deepening when Wynonna doesn’t say anything. “But there must be somethin’ wrong, if you’ve come all the way out here?”

 

“Not an emergency, so to speak,” Wynonna says, and Nicole can tell from the way she’s holding the tension in her body that there’s something wrong, even if her tone doesn’t immediately reveal that. “Just…“

 

“Has somethin’ happened?” Nicole asks, worried, her mind immediately falling back to the newest disappearance she’d learned of before riding out here.

 

“No, no,” Wynonna says, shaking her head. “Nothin’s happened. Doc just thought he saw somethin’ odd, and we couldn’t find anythin’, but when you didn’t come back after a couple’a hours, I got…”

 

“Worried,” Waverly finishes for her, and Nicole must look a little off at something, because Wynonna hurries to provide some reassurance.

 

“That’s not a slight on your own abilities whatsoever, Deputy,” Wynonna says quickly, her face softening as she looks to Nicole. “It’s just… I know if you were in my position, well… you wouldn’t just stay at home, would you?”

 

“No,” Nicole admits, relaxing her expression and soothing her frown. “No, I’d be out here just like you.”

 

“I really am sorry to bother you now that I know you’re both okay,” Wynonna says a little sheepishly, obviously rather aware of what she’s just interrupted. “It’s just…”

 

“I know,” Nicole finishes for her this time. “It’s more than alright, Wynonna. Much better that you found and interrupted us like this, than finding anythin’ else. Come to it, what was it that Doc thought he saw?”

 

“This is gonna sound mad,” Wynonna replies, scratching the back of her neck as she drops her gaze, and Nicole’s blood runs cold. “‘Specially as we didn’t find anythin’, but… a man, or somethin’ man-shaped, but all dark, all black, he said. Only I don’t know how somethin’ like that could be more’n a trick of the light.”

 

“Man-shaped?” Nicole asks as her pulse slows in her wrists, and she resists the urge to pull Waverly closer into her side. “And black? Doc didn’t describe it lookin’ like anythin’ else did he? Not somethin’ like…”

 

“Smoke?” Wynonna asks, meeting Nicole’s gaze dead on, and she feels the other woman’s concern and fear as much as her own.

 

“What am I missin’ here?” Waverly asks, turning between the two of them, a frown on her face.

 

“I don’t know, baby girl,” Wynonna says, not taking her eyes off Nicole. “But I’m thinkin’ the deputy’s seen somethin’ like what Doc described.”

 

“Have you?” Waverly questions, with a note of something like fear in her voice, too.

 

“I think so,” Nicole says slowly, looking between Waverly and her sister. “I don’t know _what_ I saw. I didn’t even know for sure I had _,_ until Chrissy mentioned seein’ somethin’ a day or two later, and even then I thought it was a trick of the light on the Main Street. But Doc wasn’t there when he saw it, was he?”

 

“He was standin’ on the front porch, about a half an hour after you left,” Wynonna replies with a cautious tone, like she’s worried giving voice to this will make it real and bring it out of their imaginations. “We searched the area around the house together, but we couldn’t even find a track, not one, so we figured it was likely nothin’, but didn’t want to leave the two of you out here in case it was…”

 

“In case it _was_ somethin’,” Nicole says, completing the thought for her.

 

And amidst the bone-setting fear currently creeping its way up Nicole’s spine, she can’t help but appreciate Wynonna’s care for the two of them.

 

“But you didn’t find anythin’, right?” Waverly questions her sister. “You came to find us, but you still hadn’t found anythin’?”

 

“Nothin’ kid,” Wynonna returns with a softer expression than before, something, Nicole is beginning to learn, she seems to reserve for Waverly alone. “Or you woulda’ heard me comin’ a mile off. I wanted to see if I could find anythin’ else on my way out here, that’s why I tried to keep the noise down. In case there was anythin’ around, maybe watchin’ you. But don’t worry, there’s nothin’. At least, nothin’ I could _see_.”

 

“If Wynonna couldn’t find it, it means there’s nothin’ there,” Waverly says by way of explanation of her sister’s abilities, turning to Nicole. “Or rather, nothin’ left behind to track.”

 

“Or maybe I’m just gettin’ slack in my old age,” Wynonna sighs, running her fingers through her hair. “Anyway, I’ll leave the two of you to it, unless you’re of a mind to head back together?”

 

And as much as she’d rather stay out here with Waverly and resume things exactly where they’d left off, Nicole is worried now, and her mind’s distracted. Busy running between the missing girl and that figure of shadow and smoke, and what it means that three of them now have seen it, individually and on separate occasions. But most of all, beyond any of her own worry, is her worry for Waverly, because Wynonna might not have been able to find anything, but she can’t deny that something feels _insidious_ in the darkness now, that it doesn’t feel as safe as it did when they’d set foot to the ground a few hours ago, and she can feel the need to take Waverly away from whatever is present out here now with an increasing urgency.

 

“As much as I hate to draw the evenin’ to a close, I think it might be sound to accompany your sister back to the house?” Nicole says, hoping beyond hope that Waverly can hear the regret there.

 

“You do?” Waverly asks her quietly, and Nicole thinks she can see recognition there, an awareness of Nicole’s concern, but the disappointment is there, too.

 

Wynonna looks different again - where Waverly has disappointment, Wynonna has something that looks vaguely like she’s impressed, that she can see Nicole valuing her sister’s safety clearly over her own obvious desire.

 

“I truly don’t wish to - no offence meant, Wynonna - but perhaps it’s for the best, if Doc and Wynonna were uneasy enough to worry and look for us?” Nicole says carefully, because she doesn’t want to upset Waverly, but she knows that is what’s best for all of them, not just Waverly.

 

“Of course,” Waverly says after a moment of consideration, her vision flicking to their surrounds before settling on Nicole’s face, and Nicole thinks she can feel it, too, just a _touch_ , whatever this oppressive thing in the darkness is. “Of course. Let’s pack up, shall we?”

 

Wynonna takes the opportunity to swipe the last few leftover morsels from the blanket before Waverly blows out the candle, and both she and Nicole stand.

 

Lady Jane is grazing a few feet away, and Wynonna, bless her thoughtfulness, takes it upon herself to go and check on the horse, giving Nicole and Waverly a moment of privacy. Nicole takes the opportunity when they’re folding the blanket together, to take Waverly’s hand as she passes Nicole the corner.

 

“Waverly,” her voice is quiet, so as not to draw the attention of her sister, too.

 

She looks at Nicole the second Nicole says her name, her eyes finding Nicole’s easily, even in the darkness, and Nicole feels her chest ache when she finds disappointment there.

 

“Hi,” Waverly says softly, her expression changing at what must be a slightly crestfallen look on Nicole’s face. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be… I was just havin’ such a nice time, is all.”

 

“I know,” Nicole replies, sighing at the admission. “As was I. You know that I’d rather continue on our evenin’, don’t you? That I don’t _want_ to go back?”

 

“No?” Waverly asks quietly, like she almost certainly knows, but the small grain of doubt is enough to make her unsure.

 

“Definitely not,” Nicole says firmly, her eyes pleading for Waverly to understand just how much she wishes they hadn’t been interrupted. “It would have been my preference to stay out here with you all night if we could have. Watch the stars pass above us.”

 

“The stars,” Waverly says suddenly, and Nicole is a little alarmed for a moment, until Waverly takes the blanket from her hands, spreading it over the ground again.

 

“Waverly?” Nicole asks, thoroughly confused by Waverly’s actions. “What are you…?”

 

“The stars,” Waverly replies, and there’s a glow to her face now that wasn’t there a moment ago. “That’s why I chose this spot. That’s why I always used to choose this spot. Will you sit?”

 

Nicole casts her eye around, noting Wynonna is still thoroughly distracted by Lady Jane, before looking down at Waverly and nodding.

 

“Of course,” Nicole answers, smiling as she takes a seat next to Waverly, tucking her hair behind her ear and out of the way. “What am I lookin’ at?”

 

“You have to get a little closer,” Waverly offers, linking her arm into Nicole’s and pulling them so they’re shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip, and Nicole tries to keep her head when Waverly’s warmth next to her _floods_ her thoughts.

 

For a moment, when Nicole looks up, all she can see is the heavy canopy of the tree, until Waverly raises her hand, pointing between the branches, to one small spot entirely clear of leaves, the sky beyond _just_ visible, and the stars in it.

 

“Can you see?” Waverly asks Nicole, turning her head towards Nicole, their lips only an inch away, and it’s torturous, because Nicole wants so badly to lean in and kiss her, but they can’t, not with Wynonna here.

 

“Stars,” Nicole breathes when she turns her head back towards the sky, her heart beating in her throat. “God, look at the stars.”

 

No wonder Waverly was so fond of this exact place, no wonder she had chosen this precise spot to sit, because the small glimpse of the sky above and the stars, high and bright and clear, feels a little like Nicole is glimpsing another world.

 

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” Waverly says somewhere beside her, and Nicole assumes Waverly is looking upwards, but when she turns her head again, she finds Waverly looking at her.

 

_Only_ at her.

 

And then Nicole’s heart stops because Waverly reaches over, placing her palm on Nicole’s cheek, and she pushes up on one elbow before leaning in, like she’s actually going to kiss her, and Nicole panics a little because it can’t happen like this, quick and stolen, because she wants to take her _time_.

 

It almost breaks her to do it, her heart screams at her, hounding her for stopping things, but she knows it’s right, and she knows Waverly will think so, too, later in the calm. So she places her hand on Waverly’s atop her cheek, looking to Wynonna before uttering something that sounds like _we_ _shouldn’t,_ but she doesn’t really even hear that herself.

 

All she hears is Waverly’s silent disappointment, loud and aching between them, Waverly’s doubt splayed across her chest, Waverly’s embarrassment high across her cheeks in a blush.

 

And she hates herself for having to stop Waverly, she _hates_ herself for causing that distress on Waverly’s face when she sits up, and suddenly she regrets so deeply not just allowing Waverly to do as she wished. But then Waverly catches sight of Wynonna moving back towards them, and Nicole thinks she sees something like resignation in her eyes, like she’s still disappointed, but she understands Nicole’s actions, and her hesitation, too.

 

“You found the stars, huh, baby girl?” Wynonna asks, walking back over to the two of them. “They’re a sight aren’t they, Haught? She’s always had an eye for them. Used to bring me out here in the middle of the night sometimes because she wanted to see them. Why the view from the house wasn’t enough and you had to drag my ass all the way out here, I’ll never understand.”

 

“It’s quieter out here,” Nicole says, turning to Waverly, because she understands, why Waverly might have wanted to escape the house she hated, and was later afraid of, to seek the solace and peace of the stars.

 

“Exactly,” Waverly says, smiling a little easier at Nicole than before. “They’re different out here to the ones I can see from the homestead.”

 

“They look like the same stars to me,” Wynonna replies, looking between the two of them like they’ve gone slightly mad. “Anyway, we’d best get goin’ if the two of you want to make it into town before midnight.”

 

Nicole stands first then, holding her hand out for Waverly to take, which Waverly does willingly, not moving far from Nicole as they pack their things back into Lady Jane’s side bags, and she’s close, proximity wise to Nicole, but she feels a million miles away in spirit.

 

“Are you alright to walk?” Nicole asks Wynonna after she helps Waverly climb back up into the saddle. “Because if you’d rather, I can walk if you want to ride? Lady Jane’ll be fine with you.”

 

“No,” Wynonna replies dismissively, waving her hand at Nicole. “I’ve got legs, Haught. The two of you are fine up there.”

 

Nicole catches sight of Waverly’s smile faltering a little at her offer to Wynonna, and Nicole could kick herself again, because she’s made it look like she doesn’t want to be up there with Waverly, like she’s trying to put distance between the two of them, when that’s the last thing she wants.

 

“Got room for me up there?” Nicole offers to Waverly, in an attempt to make her aware of how much she values the proximity.

 

“I don’t know…” Waverly returns teasingly, and Nicole smiles broadly at the soft note of playfulness there, before Waverly shuffles forward just slightly to make room.

 

She jumps up smoothly, trying to dampen the sigh that almost slips from her lungs when she settles behind Waverly again, feeling Waverly lean back against her chest.

 

“Comfortable?” Nicole asks softly, leaning over Waverly’s shoulder a little, just catching Waverly close her eyes in what she thinks could be contentment, or maybe just relief at them finally making their way back.

 

_Damn me and my hesitant conservatism_ , Nicole thinks to herself as she feels Waverly pull away a little again, even though they’re closer than they’ve ever been physically, when they begin to find their path back to the homestead.

 

The ride is quiet for the most part, Wynonna walking silently beside them, lost in her own thoughts, as Nicole and Waverly both are, too, the light from the stars the only noise around them. They reach the homestead without incident, and without sight of anything untoward or strange, Nicole unable to see anything in the darkness beyond the outline of trees and the occasional movement caused by the night breeze sweeping through the shrubs or grasses around them.

 

Doc is waiting on the porch for them when they break within sight of the house, his shoulders slackening in obvious relief at Wynonna returning safely.

 

“See? One piece,” Wynonna says to Doc, gesturing to herself by way of a greeting, and Nicole realises after catching the look on his face that he must have exhibited some reluctance or hesitation in Wynonna coming to find them alone.

 

“Thankfully,” he grumbles a little in reply, before moving closer and allowing Wynonna to brush against his arm. “Did you have any trouble?”

 

“None at all,” Wynonna answers, turning to face him. “Only interruptin’ their evenin’. I am sorry, baby girl.”

 

Nicole helps Waverly dismount while Doc and Wynonna have some silent conversation between themselves, unable to not smile at the obvious bond she can see present there.

 

“Don’t be silly,” Waverly says, shaking her head, smiling at her sister after her feet touch the ground. “It’s good of you to worry.”

 

Nicole’s expecting Waverly to pull back or away a little once she climbs down from the horse, but to her immense relief, Waverly doesn’t. She stays close to Nicole’s side instead.

 

“I think your sister spends a good part of her life worryin’ about you, Miss Waverly,” Doc says softly, his expression full of something that Nicole thinks looks an awful lot like love.

 

“What? Like you don’t, too?” Wynonna accuses, spinning to Doc like he’s guilty of exactly the same thing.

 

“Of course I do,” Doc replies sweetly, looking at Waverly with a beautiful fondness. “Especially now.”

 

“Speakin’ of that,” Wynonna says carefully, looking meaningfully between Nicole and Doc.

 

“Yes,” Nicole returns, thankful for Wynonna’s invitation, because she had been keen to speak with Doc before they left, but hadn’t wanted to interrupt the flow of conversation. “Before we go, Wynonna mentioned you might’ve seen somethin’ that prompted her comin’ to look for us. I wonder if I might ask you a few questions?”

 

“Of course,” Doc says quickly, before he blushes a little in embarrassment. “Although, I’m afraid it might sound a little…”

 

“Odd?” Nicole finishes for him, holding his eye so he knows her intention isn’t to make fun of him at all, that she’s as serious about this as her tone suggests.

 

“Yes,” Doc says, nodding slowly in appreciation of Nicole’s understanding. “Exactly. _Odd_. But how did you…”

 

“I can’t be sure,” Nicole explains carefully, her eyes moving to Waverly and Wynonna watching her and Doc with rapt attention. “But I think, Mr. Holliday, that I might have seen the same thing a few evenin’s past.”

 

“You did?” Doc asks, his eyebrows almost raising into his hairline in surprise.

 

“I think so,” Nicole answers, choosing her words purposefully, because she doesn’t want to lead Doc into giving her any specific detail, she wants it to come from him organically. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a few things?”

 

“Of course,” Doc says with a concerned frown. “Of course, Deputy. Have you somethin’ to write the details down? I know you’re not on duty this evenin’, but we have pen and paper in the house.”

 

The _we_ in his sentence makes Nicole smile, and she catches Waverly’s eye to find her smiling at exactly the same thing.

 

“No,” Nicole says confidently in answer to Doc’s question, shaking her head. “It’s quite alright, Doc. I’ve got a good memory for these type’a things. If you’d be so kind as to recount some of the detail, though? What exactly was it that you think you saw?”

 

“A man,” Doc says clearly, and with a confidence that matches Nicole’s own. “I thought I saw a man, only it couldn’t have been a man, because he didn’t look solid.”

 

“What do you mean by that?” Nicole asks clearly, trying not to betray the way her blood feels to have stopped in her veins, because that’s _exactly_ what she thought when she laid eyes on whatever it is Doc is describing, too.

 

“I mean, he was certainly man-shaped, and it coulda’ been the distance between us, but he didn’t look to have a solid outline, almost as if he were made of smoke. One second he, or it, was there, and then it was gone. As if it’d never been present to begin with.”

 

Waverly and Wynonna have been silent up to this point, but Nicole glances to Waverly, and there must be something written across her face, because Waverly does speak then.

 

“Is that…” she starts, before swallowing thickly and continuing. “Is that what you saw, too?”

 

“I’m not… I can’t be sure, but I _think_ so,” Nicole reveals slowly, and she watches as Doc’s eyes go wide.

 

“Was there any variation to your recollection, Deputy?” Doc asks, and Nicole is impressed by his perceptiveness.

 

“No,” Nicole says carefully, unable to keep the dread out of her voice. “It sounds exactly the same. If asked, my recollection would be almost word for word, Doc. A man, but _not_ a man, in black, and there, but impossibly _not_ solid around the edges.”

 

“What in the sweet hell is goin’ on?” Wynonna curses, and Nicole feels Waverly draw a little closer into her side. “Do you think there’s a link? Between whatever it is the two of you saw, and…”

 

“The missing girls?” Nicole answers for her, the regret high and heavy in her voice. “I can’t imagine they’re _not_ related. You’ve never seen this figure before, have you? We all seem to have started seeing it around the same time the girls started disappearin’?”

 

“About the same time you arrived in town,” Wynonna says for a second, and the atmosphere chills around them, immediately.

 

“Hold on a minute,” Waverly says a little indignantly, turning on her sister, with her hands on her hips. “You’re not suggestin’ Nicole has somethin’ to do with this, are you?”

 

“No,” Nicole says softly, touching her hand to Waverly’s shoulder. “Your sister’s right. It does seem to coincide with my arrivin’ in town, but I promise you all, I swear on my _life_ , I have nothin’ to do with the disappearances.”

 

“Of course you don’t,” Waverly soothes, turning to Nicole with a soft expression that’s so full of trust, it almost takes Nicole aback. “We know you don’t. It’s just Wynonna bein’ rude, as per usual.”

 

“It’s more than okay,” Nicole affirms to Waverly and Wynonna both. “Truly, Wynonna. It’s completely understandable to voice a concern like that, given how close Waverly and I are. Honestly, I’d be worried if you _didn’t_ raise somethin’ about it.”

 

“See, it’s the right thing to do to at least mention it,” Wynonna grouses, softening her expression at Doc and Waverly’s glare, before correcting herself. “Back down, you two. You know I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant… well he - _it_ \- couldn’t have come _with_ you, could it, Deputy?”

 

“I mean, we can’t rule anythin’ out as a possibility, but I don’t think so,” Nicole replies with hot cheeks. “I’ve never seen, nor heard of anythin’ like that before. Is there any folklore or the like out in these parts that could describe it?”

 

“Nothin’,” Waverly answers at her side, taking Nicole’s hand quietly, making Nicole’s heart jump. “Nothin’ at all. I’ve always thought it strange, but figured it was somethin’ like the way nothin’ makes noise out here?”

 

“Where exactly did you see the figure?” Nicole asks Doc again. “Where were you and where was it?”

 

“I was standin’ on the very edge of the porch,” Doc gestures and they all follow and fall in beside him, reaching the spot he’s gesturing to in a few steps. “Here, and I saw it out there.”

 

He’s pointing to a spot almost on the edge of the house part of their property, before it turns to grass beyond, just at the edge of a hedge of trees.

 

“And you’re sure it wasn’t just a tree?” Wynonna asks dryly, and it’s a teasing question, but it’s actually a valid one, too, because the trees from where Nicole’s standing do have a lifelike quality, but the image she has in her own head is vastly different to the outline of the trees.

 

“Positive,” Doc returns with an equal amount of snark. “I think I know the difference between a tree and a man, thank you very much. I’m not so old my eyesight's failing’ me.”

 

“He’s right,” Nicole says quietly, in support of Doc’s claim. “I can understand the thought that it might be mistakable, but the thing I saw, there was no mistakin’ that for anything else. It was…”

 

“Defined by its undefinability?” Doc offers, looking directly to Nicole.

 

“Exactly,” Nicole replies, smiling at the sudden kinship she feels with him; at knowing she isn’t mad, or losing her mind. “That’s exactly it.”

 

“Neither of you has seen anythin’ since, though, have you?” Wynonna asks cautiously. “Neither of you have seen anythin’ while we’ve been here talkin’?”

 

“Nothin’,” Doc and Nicole say in unison, and Wynonna sighs heavily.

 

“Well then, I’d suggest we all retire for the evenin’,” Wynonna offers. “We’re all tired, and I don’t think we’re in imminent danger anymore. You’d be wise to get back into town before…”

 

“Come on, Wynonna, you don’t believe that, do you?” Waverly says, sighing as she turns to her sister.

 

“What am I missin’ here?” Nicole asks, her eyes moving between the two of them, as though she might find an answer there.

 

“The witchin’ hour,” Doc says simply, filling in the gap for Nicole, and there’s something about the matter-of-factness to his speech that sends a chill down her spine. “I believe. No?”

 

“It’s a story Daddy used to tell us to scare us into not leavin’ the house at night,” Waverly says shortly, and Nicole can see frustration there in her eyes. “It’s nonsense. Just another example of him bein’ a bully.”

 

“Look, I’m not sayin’ the man wasn’t an asshole, baby girl, because he was, but… I don’t know… I don’t think that was one of his tricks,” Wynonna says carefully. “I think… I don’t know, the world just feels different then. Not a good different.”

 

“Well, I think you’re bein’ silly,” Waverly says, turning back to Nicole with a no-nonsense expression. “But I think we probably should make our way back, regardless. I feel as though I’ve already kept you up too late for your work tomorrow.”

 

“I’m a big girl,” Nicole replies with a wink, squeezing Waverly’s hand. “Promise. And I’ve had a number of nights runnin’ on much less sleep. I’ll be just fine.”

 

“Deputy Haught, I’m not suggestin’ you’re anythin’ less than wholly capable, but it would be remiss of me not to offer to accompany you back to town,” Doc says seriously, and Nicole can tell he’s not questioning her ability, he’s only being chivalrous.

 

“It’s a kind offer, but we’ll be fine,” Nicole answers softly. “Unless, Waverly, _you’d_ feel more secure with-”

 

“No,” Waverly says, shaking her head quickly, grinning at Nicole. “No, it’s a kind offer, but I feel more than safe with you.”

 

Nicole beams a little at the reassurance, before turning to gesture Lady Jane over. “Well, I suppose we should take our leave, then?”

 

“Ride safe, alright?” Wynonna scowls, walking towards the two of them, pulling her sister into a tight hug. “I’ll kill the both of you if anythin’ happens to either of you, you hear me?”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicole says to Wynonna in return, inciting exactly the frown she was hoping for. “I’ll get us in safe, Wynonna.”

 

Nicole turns to Waverly then, helping her up into the saddle for the final time before moving back to face Wynonna.

 

“I know,” Wynonna replies, shrugging. “Do you think I’d let my little sister up there with you if I didn’t?”

 

Nicole feels her palms warm with the affirmation of Wynonna’s trust, catching Waverly’s full smile, too, before jumping up behind her and turning Lady Jane about.

 

“If you see anythin’, you’ll call into the station tomorrow?” Nicole asks Doc as much as Wynonna, knowing of the two, he’s a little more likely to comply with a request.

 

“Of course, Deputy,” Doc says, nodding thoughtfully. “Of course we will. Look after each other.”

 

“I’ll be sure to keep her safe, don’t you worry,” Waverly returns playfully, beaming to the man who, by all accounts, seems to be a brother to her.

 

“Get out of here,” Wynonna says, shooing them away and taking a step closer to Doc, seemingly seeking comfort from him with her sister’s departure.

 

Nicole directs Lady Jane onto the road that will take them back into town, nudging her into a slightly quicker pace than the one they’d come in on.

 

“You’re alright?” Nicole asks Waverly softly after they settle into a rhythm. “Not too cold? Because I’ve got a jacket in one of the saddlebags, that I could—”

 

“I like the heat of you better,” Waverly hums in reply, softly leaning against Nicole’s chest. “I think the jacket might lessen that a little. And I’m alright. Just thinkin’.”

 

It takes Nicole a second to reply, as distracted as she is by the ease with which Waverly chooses the heat of her body over another method of comfort to keep her warm, shaking her head inconspicuously to clear the fog.  

 

“May I ask what about?” Nicole questions, and she’s worried for a moment that Waverly is thinking about dark things, about figures made of doubt and shadow, pleasantly surprised when Waverly does answer.

 

“I liked seeing you like that,” Waverly admits quietly, and Nicole can’t see exactly, but she thinks she imagines Waverly blushing in the darkness. “Bein’ a deputy, that is.”

 

“You did?” Nicole asks, her stomach dropping a little at the admission, and she wishes more than anything that she could see Waverly’s face now to try and gauge how she’s feeling.

 

“Yeah,” Waverly replies with a slightly low tone. “I did. You’re different like that. You’re… impressive. You’re very impressive.”

 

“You’ve seen me on duty before, haven’t you?” Nicole asks, a little puzzled and not quite sure how to take Waverly’s compliment.

 

“No,” Waverly says, shaking her head. “I would have remembered. I’ve only seen you in the shop, or at the Inn, or escortin’ me down the road. Never like this.”

 

“And it’s… okay?” Nicole asks a little nervously, leaning over Waverly’s shoulder a little.

 

“More than okay,” Waverly says with a nod of her head. “More than, Nicole.”

 

Waverly goes quiet then, and they pass the majority of the rest of the ride in silence, each of them so deeply lost in their own thoughts, Nicole’s mind turning over and over the missing girl, now that the events of evening aren’t ahead of her as a distraction.

 

It’s only when she comes out of her mind once Mattie’s barn enters her line of sight that Nicole worries about _why_ Waverly is so quiet. Because she had distantly assumed it was due to their conversation as a group, and its contents, but she _feels_ a little distant, too, like she had before when they’d ridden back to the homestead from the tree, close physically to Nicole, but emotionally distant.

 

And she’s not sure it’s the right time, but she needs Waverly to know why she’d stopped her earlier, because she doesn’t want to go on for a second longer with the possibility that she hadn’t _wanted_ it turning in Waverly’s head.

 

“Waverly,” Nicole says softly, not wanting to startle her. “I want to make somethin’ clear, before we get to the stables. I…the reason that I stopped you before, it wasn’t because I don’t want to kiss you. The truth couldn’t have been further from it, actually. And offerin’ Wynonna to ride, I hadn’t thought what that must’ve looked like. I was just tryin’ to do the right thing.”

 

She knows she should have been more organised in her explanation, worried that some detail would be lost at the cost of another, but she doesn’t want to make matters messier than she already has, deciding it’s best to wait for Waverly’s reply instead.

 

“I know, Nicole,” Waverly returns quietly, and Nicole cannot for the life of her pick Waverly’s emotion from the tone of her voice. “It was a good thing to do. And, I think, the right thing to do, too.”

 

She’s waiting for Waverly to finish her sentence, to give Nicole something, anything else to go on, but there’s nothing. She doesn’t say another word, settling in close against Nicole’s chest again.

 

_At least she’s not pulling away in that respect_ , Nicole tries to reassure herself. And perhaps she’s just tired, or perhaps she’s just overwhelmed with the events of the evening, and that’s why she’s not really giving Nicole much in the other regard.

 

_Or perhaps it’s because she’s angry with me. Or frustrated. Or upset, only she just doesn’t know how to express that to me._

 

She doesn’t want to ask Waverly and risk upsetting her further, settling on trying to gauge what she thinks is wrong when they reach the stables. They make it there inside the next few minutes, Lady Jane picking up the pace of her own accord once she recognises the scent of a place she has come to know as home.

 

Nicole doesn’t even need to direct Lady Jane once they enter, the horse making her own way to her stall, stopping to let the two of them off. Nicole searches for any movement or motion inside the stables from their vantage point before they dismount, not finding anything, the stables as quiet as the house had been when they had ridden in.

 

“Sleepy,” Waverly says when the horse comes to a complete stop, and Nicole feels herself sigh in relief at the idea that perhaps that’s all Waverly’s quietness is attributed to: her likely exhaustion after a long day.

 

“Will you be alright to walk into town?” Nicole asks softly, leaning over Waverly’s shoulder a little. “Because we can ride in, and I can bring Lady Jane back myself?”

 

“No,” Waverly says, shaking her head. “No, I don’t want you to go anywhere alone. I’ll be alright in a minute, I promise.”

 

“Take your time,” Nicole offers, her voice gentle, savouring the feeling of Waverly’s body next to hers while she’s still able. “There’s no rush. We can stay like this for a little while.”

 

“I don’t want to move at _all_ ,” Waverly mutters with her eyes closed, nuzzling further into Nicole’s chest, and Nicole has to bite her tongue to stop a sound escaping between her lips at the motion.  

 

“I could _carry_ you back into town,” Nicole says, half-joking, but more than capable of doing so if Waverly needed.

 

“You could not,” Waverly replies, turning against Nicole’s chest to eye her warily. “I’m heavy.”

 

“Hardly,” Nicole drawls, rolling her eyes. Because the idea of Waverly Earp being heavy is laughable. “I don’t think there’s a single part of you that I could call heavy.”

 

“My brain?” Waverly asks sweetly, and Nicole feels her heart melt a little at the softness in Waverly’s eyes.

 

“My apologies,” Nicole says quickly, with a mock concern, bending slightly to whisper into Waverly’s ear. “Of _course_ your brain.”

 

Waverly does a little stretch against her, making a small noise of contentment once again, and Nicole’s heart melts further.

 

“Alright,” Waverly says finally, arching her back against Nicole’s front a little. “I think I’m ready to leave now. I’m not sure if I can…”

 

“That’s alright,” Nicole offers quickly, moving regrettably to dismount and help Waverly down. “Allow me.”

 

Her boots hit the ground and her chest aches with the loss of Waverly against it, soothed a little by the thrill of Waverly holding her hand as she swings her leg over the horse before sliding off. She stumbles a little on the landing, ending up almost fully in Nicole’s arms before she’s able to regain her balance, not that Nicole minds one ounce.

 

“Sorry,” Waverly offers a little sheepishly, pulling back a little, blushing in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to…”

 

“Hey,” Nicole says, catching her eye and holding it, tucking a piece of Waverly’s hair behind her ear, pulled loose by her trip. “It’s more than okay, alright? Fall on me all you like.”

 

“You’ll always catch me?” Waverly asks, but there’s a sadness in her voice that wasn’t there before they left the homestead, like it’s a plea and not a request, like she’s worried.

 

“ _Always_ , Waverly,” Nicole says firmly, moving her hands to Waverly’s upper arms and daring to pull her in for a soft embrace. “I’ll _always_ catch you.”

 

Waverly looks at her with this hesitant hope that makes Nicole want to kiss her all over again, and she _knows_ now isn’t the right time, not with everything that’s happened tonight, but she doesn’t miss the flash of disappointment regardless.

 

Nicole inhales to apologise, or to explain or something, before a massive yawn tears its way from Waverly’s lungs, and she smiles instead.

 

“Let’s get you home, huh?” Nicole asks when she pulls back fully from Waverly, who nods a little sadly in response.

 

Nicole busies herself with settling Lady Jane in for the night, ensuring she has water and a little bit of hay, before bidding the horse goodnight and holding her arm out for Waverly to take. She sways a little on her feet, before Nicole narrows her eyes, moving closer to Waverly’s side.

 

“You know I _can_ carry you, if you need,” Nicole says gently, looking over Waverly a little worried. “I promise I won’t tell a soul.”

 

“I don’t want to be a burden,” Waverly replies with a small shrug, and she doesn’t say anything, but Nicole watches her shiver a little once they move away towards the door where the night breeze finds them. “I might need to lean on you a little heavier, but I think I’ll be okay.”

 

“Well, I’m here if you need,” Nicole says in return, before walking back a few steps to remove the jacket she had forgotten about from the side of the saddle she’d just taken off Lady Jane. “Here, slip this on. It’s not much, but it’ll keep the chill off.”

 

“You’re sure you don’t need it?” Waverly says, clenching her jaw to stop from shaking. “Because I’ll—”

 

“ _I’ll_ be fine,” Nicole replies, cutting Waverly off gently. “ _You_ look like you might be blue in the face in a few minutes. Please?”

 

“You’re sure you don’t mind?” Waverly asks, but she’s already holding out her arms for Nicole to slip the jacket on over them. “I can give it back, if you need it, okay?”

 

“How about you just keep close to me?” Nicole asks sweetly, tucking Waverly’s hand securely in the crook of her elbow, and the movement draws Waverly in a little closer, so she’s leaning almost fully on Nicole. “That way you can keep me warm.”

 

They’re largely quiet as they make their way into town, both lost in their own thoughts, Nicole running the events of the evening, all of them, over in her head again and again, and Waverly - Nicole thinks - asleep on her feet almost, at her side.

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was so tired,” Waverly says apologetically when they near the shop. “I’ve been dreadful company this whole way back.”

 

“You’ve been _wonderful_ company,” Nicole assures her, shaking her head. “Wonderful company this whole evenin’, actually.”

 

“I feel as though I haven’t been,” Waverly replies, her face worried as she digs in her satchel for the key to the shop. “Are you sure you’ve had a good time?”

 

“Positive,” Nicole says easily, hoping desperately that Waverly can see the sincerity there. “I’ve had a very fine evenin’. Have you, also? I’m sorry it didn’t end the way I had… havin’ to discuss that matter with Doc can’t have been-”

 

“I told you,” Waverly interjects, cutting Nicole off softly. “I liked hearin’ you talk about it. Not only for hearing _you_ , but… it’s nice to be included when things like this happen. Normally, I’m… normally Wynonna leaves me out because she’s worried, but you treat me like an adult, you treat me like an _equal_ , and… gosh, I don’t know, Nicole. Am I makin’ sense still?”

 

“Perfect sense,” Nicole replies softly, taking the keys from Waverly when she fumbles them in the lock. “And I’ll never treat you like anythin’ less than my equal, because that’s what you are. You know that don’t you?”

 

“I think so?” Waverly says, half a question to herself. “I think… it might take a little gettin’ used to, but I will. You’re too good to me, is all.”

 

“Nothin’ in this world is too good for you, Waverly Earp,” Nicole offers gently. “I’ll make you see that one day, even if it takes a while.”

 

“And you’ll be here?” Waverly asks, and Nicole can hear the same doubt in her voice as before. “You’ll stay, even if…”

 

“I’m not goin’ anywhere, Waverly. I promise,” Nicole says with a confidence that she thinks makes Waverly soften in relief. “You’re stuck with me, I’m afraid.”

 

“Oh, what a _terrible_ fate,” Waverly says, rolling her eyes playfully in response, waiting outside the now opened door.

 

“Would you…” Nicole starts, peering ahead of Waverly to look into the shop, and she doesn’t want to imply that Waverly can’t look after herself, but after the events of the evening, she’d feel a hell of a lot better leaving Waverly here if she could make sure the shop and upstairs are safe first.

 

“You want to have a look around?” Waverly asks sleepily, looking at Nicole and her worry with fondness. “Of course, go right ahead. After the evenin’ we’ve had, I wouldn’t turn it down, to be truthful.”

 

Nicole smiles at Waverly accommodating her concern, walking ahead to check behind the counter, smiling at Oakley’s bed on the floor before making her way to the bottom of the stairs.

 

“You want to come up?” Nicole asks, offering her hand, and Waverly nods softly, locking the front door before walking over to slip her hand into Nicole’s.

 

They make their way upstairs, Waverly holding back while Nicole checks around the room, finding nothing but the soft scent of Waverly’s perfume, lingering after its application earlier in the evening.

 

“I think we’re all safe,” Nicole says, turning back to Waverly with a relieved smile. “I can leave you to sleep.”

 

Waverly nods in thanks, before casting a glance she doesn’t think Waverly intends her to see towards the bed, and Nicole isn’t sure whether it’s longing for a night spent alone, for _sleep_ , or whether there’s a longing there for something else, perhaps for Nicole to join her there, too.

 

“Sleep,” Waverly echoes a little blankly, and Nicole takes that as her cue to leave.

 

“Are you okay to lock me out?” Nicole says softly, her own mind unable to stop a slow and steady longing for Waverly’s bed, too.

 

“Of course,” Waverly nods, the drowsiness in her eyes making Nicole’s heart flutter, before they make their way back downstairs.

 

Nicole does the job of getting the door open, before she turns to give Waverly her full attention, finding Waverly looking at her with an expression that Nicole can’t _quite_ place.

 

“Thank you for takin’ me to see your home,” Nicole says quietly, daring to reach for Waverly’s hand, sighing in relief when Waverly closes her eyes against the gesture. “It’s… I hope you know how much I appreciate it.”

 

“Of course,” Waverly replies, leaning forward into the warmth of Nicole’s body a little. “Thank you for acceptin’ the invitation. I hope you know how much that means to me, Nicole. Because it’s not somethin’ everyone would do. I _know_ it’s not.”

 

“I’m not everyone,” Nicole says a little smartly, smiling at the way Waverly’s eyes close in amusement.

 

“No, you’re most definitely not,” Waverly breathes in return. “Good night, Nicole. I had… everythin’ aside, it might be one of the best nights of my life.”

 

“Why?” Nicole asks, taken aback at the admission.

 

“Because, I think that’s the first time in a long time that I’ve _wanted_ to go out there,” Waverly explains, her eyes a little glassy. “I think that’s the first time in a long time, too, where I haven’t been scared out there. And that’s all because of you.”

 

“I don’t…” Nicole tries to reason, but Waverly only shakes her head gently.

 

“Stop bein’ so modest,” Waverly says, narrowing her eyes playfully. “And just let me pay you a compliment, will you?”

 

Nicole furrows her brow in a frown, but she smiles, too, and Waverly knows then that she can continue.

 

“Thank you, Nicole,” Waverly says one final time, before moving forward, and for a moment Nicole thinks she’s going to kiss her, _really_ kiss her, but her aim moves to the right a little, and her lips land on Nicole’s cheek, _just_ missing the edge of her mouth.

 

“You’re welcome,” Waverly,” Nicole replies, but honestly, she’s only half here, because the other half of her consciousness is a million miles away, focused completely on the sensation of Waverly’s lips _almost_ finding her own.

 

“Good night,” Waverly says smoothly, coming down off her tiptoes, watching Nicole like she almost wants to ask her not to go, to stay instead, and that shadow of disappointment is back, too, before Waverly frowns, realising that she’s still wearing Nicole’s jacket from the walk back. “Oh, before I forget.”

 

“No,” Nicole hurries to say, reaching out to stop Waverly’s movement. “Keep it. I don’t need it just to cross the road. Stay warm while you get ready for bed, and I’ll…well, I could grab it tomorrow, or if you wanted… if you’d like me to call by in the mornin’, I could get it then?”

 

“Oh,” Waverly returns, like she’s surprised, like she really hadn’t been expecting Nicole to ask that of her. “Yes, of course. If that’s what you’d like, too?”

 

“Of _course_ it’s what I’d like,” Nicole replies, and she’s not sure why exactly, but it feels a little like they’re on completely different parts of the earth, for the distance that Waverly feels from her.  

 

“I’ll see you then?” Waverly replies sleepily, and Nicole softens at the vulnerability present in the lines of her body.

 

“You’ll see me then,” Nicole affirms, nodding her head. “Sleep well, alright? Do you think you’ll be okay without Oakley?”

 

“Yes, Deputy, I’ll be just fine,” she returns with a small smile, amused by Nicole’s concern, perhaps. “I’ve managed the last few years without her, one night’ll be just fine. You sleep well, too.”

 

“For some reason, here, I always do,” Nicole says with a shrug, walking through the door and out into the quiet alley behind the shop, feeling, for a reason she can’t quite pinpoint, a little sad, like Waverly feels to be drifting away as they stand there.

 

“Must be your company across the road,” Waverly offers quietly, dropping her gaze to the floor before looking up to Nicole with eyes that make Nicole wonder if she isn’t overthinking things. Eyes that make Nicole want to stay right here and never, _ever_ leave.

 

“I think it must be,” Nicole replies in affirmation, winking before watching another wave of exhaustion ripple through Waverly. “Goodnight, Waverly Earp. Sleep well.”

 

“And you, Deputy,” Waverly says, smiling shyly as sleep tightens its grasp on her.

 

Nicole does turn to leave then, finally, unable to resist turning back to catch Waverly’s tired gaze one last time, waiting for the click of the bolt, before making her way from the back of the shop, down the alley.

 

It’s quiet, and she’s dead-tired, but she’s still highly alert, looking around the alley carefully before proceeding onto the Main Street. There isn’t anyone else around, not that she can see anyway, but there’s something in the night air that makes her feel unsettled. She walks quickly across the road, not lingering, her palm on the gun at her waist, just in case, and she enters the door of the Inn without issue, but she can’t shake the feeling that she’s being watched.

 

Curtis is asleep at the front desk when Nicole walks in, more than relieved to see a relatively normal sight, and she watches the soft rise and fall of his back for a moment before making her way up the stairs.

 

The Inn is quiet, too, all of its inhabitants, save Nicole, fast asleep, so she makes it to her room without incident or meeting another. She’s more exhausted than she thinks, only realising when she fumbles as Waverly had with her key, taking more than one attempt to unlock the door.

 

Her mind is filled with worry when she finally kicks her boots off, sitting on the edge of her bed, but it’s not worry for the missing girls this time, it’s worry over _Waverly_. Because they’d had a good evening, Nicole had thought so, and Waverly had said so, too, but there’s a feeling, a dreadful weight in her stomach like she’s left something behind with Waverly, until her brain registers what it is with a jolt.

 

_My heart_ , Nicole thinks suddenly. _It feels like I’ve left my heart._

 

Only now she’s not sure if Waverly still _wants_ it. That’s why it hurts, because Nicole isn’t sure if it’s been left abandoned on the foot of Waverly’s stairs, or taken up to fold into Waverly’s chest, to help soothe her to sleep. Nicole’s not sure if she’s disappointed Waverly, if she’s drawn away one too many times.

 

Because Waverly had said she’d had a lovely evening, she’d said she’d had the _best_ evening, but that had been before the very end of their time together.

 

Maybe she should have taken the opportunity when Waverly had leaned over, with Wynonna a few feet away. Maybe she should have kissed Waverly regardless, maybe then Waverly wouldn’t feel a million miles away, instead of only the stone’s throw she _actually_ is.

 

She wants to lament, she wants to howl or cry, but Nicole Haught is nothing if not practical, because she’s never been able to afford not to be. Because there’s never been anyone to help her pick up the pieces if she allows herself to fall apart, beyond herself, so she’s never given herself the option to be anything _but_ strong.

 

_There isn’t much you can do now_ , Nicole tells herself. _What’s done is done. You need to get your head straight and fix what is tomorrow, before you lose her for good._

 

She starts to strip back her layers then, readying herself for bed, trying to stop her mind ruminating on what it would have felt like if she’d just relented, if she stopped trying to do everything the right way all the time, if she hadn’t stopped Waverly’s hand like she had.

 

Waverly’s lips are soft.

 

She knows that much from the handful of times Waverly has kissed her on the cheek, or from the moment earlier this evening when they’d _just_ grazed the side of her mouth, and it’s the hardest thing in the world not to let her mind go off on a tangent and imagine what they’d feel like pressed to her own lips properly.

 

What it would feel like to kiss her soundly.

 

What it would feel like to have her body bend and melt against Nicole’s own…

 

But she stops herself there. Because she has to. Because she wants to respect Waverly’s honour, first and foremost, but she knows that to dream any longer will only break her solidly into pieces if Waverly tells her tomorrow that this _isn’t_ what she wants.

 

So she tries to focus on other things. On her job. On how difficult the next few days are likely to be while they add another missing person to their list, but it’s hopeless, it’s helpless, because the only solid thought in her head is that of Waverly Earp.

 

This isn’t helped whatsoever when Nicole pulls her shirt off over her head and catches the smell of Waverly’s perfume, heated against her own skin, and her mind floods with the memory of Waverly pressed up against her for a good part of their evening together, almost skin to skin, her lungs full with the scent. Nicole grumbles before rolling onto her stomach, face down against the linen of her bed, allowing herself a small moment of pity before rolling back over and getting undressed fully.

 

Even her nightshirt smells of Waverly, that’s how much the scent has permeated every inch Nicole’s being, and she doesn’t know whether to feel tortured or relieved when the perfume climbs into bed with her, too.

 

She falls asleep quickly at first, into a short and shallow sleep, and she jolts awake just as quickly, her arms reaching for the source of the scent that her sleep-addled mind assumes is in bed with her.

 

Only it’s not. Waverly is not. She’s asleep across the street in her own bed, with her heart god only knows where.

 

Nicole drags herself up and out of bed then, to look out her own window and over to Waverly’s, and she’s surprised to find light over there still. Her heart stops, worried that Waverly might have fallen asleep with a candle still lit, but then she sees Waverly’s silhouette moving around - and it is unmistakably _Waverly’s_ outline - and her heart stops again. Because Waverly’s still awake, at almost three in the morning, and that has to mean something, either she’s worried and doesn’t want sleep, or that it’s evading her.

 

It’s avoiding her, because her mind is busy or worried or something, it must be _something_ , and suddenly Nicole’s fear is high in her throat again at the idea that _she_ might be to blame for Waverly’s sleeplessness. She’s almost of half a mind to walk across the road and speak to Waverly now, to find out her fate before the morning, but she doesn’t want to concern Waverly, or seem too needy, or to interrupt her if she’s trying to decide what she wants.

 

Because at the end of the day, _that’s_ what’s important, it’s really one of the only things that matters, what Waverly wants, and as much as Nicole wants Waverly to choose her in the end, what she wants more is for Waverly to be happy. And if her happiness revolves around someone else providing that for her, then Nicole will take her broken heart and make room for whomever Waverly really chooses.

 

Even if it kills her, the _only_ thing she wants is for Waverly to be happy.

 

But, _god_ , she’d do anything to get to _be_ that person.

 

And she wishes there was something she could do or change to help her own case, but she knows there’s not. She knows the only thing to do now is wait, and see what the morning brings for them both.

 

Nicole walks back over to the bed, falling heavily into the heap of blankets before rolling over, sliding her arms across the cold space next to her, and wonders distantly if she’ll ever find somebody to fill that space. Whether she’ll ever have a partner to wake up to every morning, or if this is her fate instead.

 

An empty bed and a full heart. A modern day tragedy.

 

Not the tragedies Nicole had read about in the stories her mother used to keep, not the type of story where the hero dies and the princess is left widowed. No, because this is worse, this is the tragedy of two people so close and alive and well with every chance and possibility in front of them, who don’t fall in love with each other, only _one_ of them does.

 

And that person is doomed to live a life with only half their heart, and the other half broken and bruised in their almost-love’s hand, unwanted and unused and failing.

 

_Our story won’t be like that_ , Nicole tells herself as sleep sets it’s claws in her and _pulls down_.

 

Our story will be different. Our story _has_ to be different.

 

Doesn’t it?

  


-


	14. fourteen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Wild-West day, team.
> 
> We're in for a much more serious chapter today so hopefully, it's a good read for everyone. This was actually one of my favourite chapters to write and I may or may not have had a little tiny cry in one part as I was doing so, too.... see if you can spot where it was. 
> 
> Thank you as always to @iamthegaysmurf queen of commas and continuity, and patron saint of wayhaught. You can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigerlo_) or [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) if you so desire, too. There are a few wayhaught minifics that never made it onto ao3, there.

-  


 

Nicole wakes slowly the next morning, her body rousing from a deep sleep gently, softly bringing the sensation back to each of her limbs, one by one. It’s such a deep sleep that it takes her a moment or two to realise where she is and what’s happening and why her heart feels a little sore.

 

_Waverly_ , she thinks as soon as her mind is able to half-focus. _Waverly is why my heart feels a little bruised._

 

She rubs her palm to her chest through her nightshirt, like one might massage an aching muscle anywhere else on the body, but it doesn’t relieve the pain like it should. It doesn’t help an inch. The rest of her body feels fine, rejuvenated even, after the deep sleep, but her chest feels like she’s been dealt a blow there.

 

She glances over to her pocket watch, finding it’s not as late as she was anticipating, only just after sunrise, relieved not to have overslept too greatly. Her duties are already calling her, despite the fact that she’s still half-asleep. The desire to get to the jail to begin the day’s search for the missing girls, but also to summon her courage and make the walk across the road to see Waverly, and maybe to greet her fate, too.

 

Rolling out of bed feels a little harder than it was the night before, when she had a completely new and exciting set of motivations drawing her out and into the world, but they’re different this morning. Not as bright, greyer than the soft pink of the sunrise. But her own concerns don’t mean that she gets to stay and hide from them a little while longer. In fact, if anything, it means she needs to meet them more bravely and as soon as she can.

 

The water in her wash bucket is clean again - Gus must have changed it for her while she was out the evening prior - and Nicole takes advantage of the slight chill of it within the metal bucket to wake herself up a little more. She takes a handful of water, dropping it on the base of her neck, shivering when the liquid snakes its way down and over the dips and swells of her spine.

 

The motion of her body shaking slightly jogs something in her mind, and the image of Waverly shivering in the stables comes rushing back to her, filling Nicole’s mind and her blood and her lungs, and she shivers harder. She glances over to Waverly’s window, finding it empty, but the main shop lit, and she’s surprised for a second, before she realises it’s no earlier than Waverly has been open the last few days, to make sure she catches Nicole before she goes to work for the day.

 

And Nicole’s heart quickens a little, because she’s not sure if Waverly’s up early again _for_ her, to catch Nicole on the way past because she wants to see her, or whether Waverly’s up early _because_ of Nicole. Whether she’s up early because she’s been processing everything that happened, and she hasn’t been able to sleep because of it. Or that she’s open so she can catch Nicole on her way past, and let her down easy and as early in the day as possible, so Nicole doesn’t have to worry the whole day away, wondering what her fate - _their_ fate - will be.

 

_There’s only one way to find out_ , Nicole resolves, trying to summon a handful of courage as she finishes freshening up for the day, drying herself with the clean towel that Gus had left for her again. _You’ve gotta go and talk to her. And maybe plead your case one last time_.

 

If Waverly will listen, that is.

 

She pulls her clothes on with some sense of dread, deciding last minute to put a spot of Waverly’s perfume on, as a tonic to make her feel a little braver and less worried, associating the scent with the calm and happy and _light_ she feels whenever Waverly is near her. The final touch is Waverly’s bandana around her neck and her gun at her hip, before Nicole checks her reflection in preparation to greet the world.

 

She looks a little tired, in spite of the fact that she doesn’t _feel_ too tired, but that’s the worry, she supposes. It’s the unsettled feeling in her gut that’s causing the darkness beneath her eyes.

 

_It’s not over,_ Nicole thinks to herself one last time. _This could be worry for absolutely nothing. This could be utterly pointless in the end, because maybe Waverly is just as worried as I am. Maybe she’s afraid I’m going to wake and say the same thing, when that’s the absolute_ _last_ _thing I want to do._

 

That’s what gives her the courage finally, that regardless of what happens, she intends to make sure Waverly knows that she’s all in. That she’s _always_ been all in, from the second they set eyes on each other.

 

The Inn is still when she makes her way downstairs, and she can hear Gus and Curtis talking quietly in the kitchen, a rather serious sounding conversation about what they might do to help the Sheriff out today, and Nicole’s loathe to interrupt that, so she slips silently out the front door, resolving to call in later in the morning to check in with them. She can’t hear any sign of Oakley either, deciding that perhaps Waverly has already come to fetch her, or that Gus has already taken her back over to Waverly.

 

The early morning sun is throwing light like crystal does into the front of the shop when Nicole walks across the road with her head held high, and the way it catches on the golden notes hidden in Waverly’s hair takes her breath away. Waverly turns, the _instant_ Nicole’s eyes set on her, like she knows, like she can feel it. When she does, her gaze finds Nicole and she smiles, that beautiful morning smile that Nicole has been positively spoiled with these last few days, and there’s no sign whatsoever in the joy across her shoulders that she wants anything less than to see Nicole’s face, every day, for the rest of her life.

 

But then it _slips_ , it falters, only for a second, and Nicole knows that it’s Waverly’s own fear at what Nicole is feeling, not a reflection of what she herself is feeling, but it takes every ounce of self-restraint not to close the narrowing distance between them and kiss her until they both can’t breathe just to stop Waverly from worrying a second longer than she needs to.

 

But she can’t.

 

And it’s worse than that. She can’t do _anything_ ; she can’t walk in and explain properly, or plead for Waverly to listen while she tells her how deeply and how wholly she’s fallen for her, because in the time since Nicole stepped foot onto the street, a woman Nicole doesn’t recognise beats her into the shop. She watches Waverly’s face falter however, she watches the smile slip again at the arrival of the other woman, and Nicole thinks that means that she wanted her to walk in, and she wanted her to speak, and she wanted to say something to finally put their racing hearts at ease.

 

Or to make them pound _louder_ , instead.  

 

But she can’t, because Waverly has another to tend to now. Because they don’t have the world to themselves this morning. She’s loathe to interrupt, but she wants Waverly to know that she wants to be here, that she wants to explain, so she lets her feet carry her towards Waverly, even though she’s indisposed.

 

“Good mornin’, Deputy,” Waverly says softly, when Nicole walks through the door, and Nicole could just melt in relief at the sound of her voice.

 

“Mornin’, Miss Earp,” Nicole says formally, in front of their company, before addressing the stranger. “Ma’am.”

 

“Are you well this mornin’?” Waverly asks her quickly while the woman is a little distracted with looking at the bottles behind the counter.

 

“Just fine,” Nicole says, smiling back softly in return, careful not to look too familiar in case the woman should turn around. “And you?”

 

“Fine, also,” Waverly replies, a little quieter than usual, but her eyes speak louder, and Nicole can almost hear her politely wishing the woman away.

 

At the sound of Nicole’s voice, a small furry body appears at the top of the stairs, her tail wagging as she moves as quickly as her body will take her, leaping into Nicole’s arms when she bends down to greet the pup.

 

“I hope you were behavin’ yourself up there, Miss Oakley,” Nicole says to the pup, playfully.

 

“She’s been perfect,” Waverly replies, smiling down at the sight of Nicole and Oakley together. “I think she missed bein’ here last night. I couldn’t persuade her off the bed once I got back from the Inn, so I told her to behave herself and come down when she was ready.”

 

“And you know better than to act out with Miss Waverly, don’t you, girl?” Nicole says to the puppy, before straightening up. “Anyway, I’ll leave you, but I wanted to call by and see if you were inclined, later, to…”

 

“Yes,” Waverly says quietly, but quickly, nodding as subtly as she can. “Yes, of course. If you’re free?”

 

“I will be,” Nicole answers, feeling her heart lift a little at Waverly’s keenness to see her, hoping against hope that the reason for this is simply to see her, and not because she wants to tell Nicole…

 

“Waverly, darlin’, will you explain what the herb you’ve just set there does, compared to the one here?” the woman asks, and Nicole feels her heart fall a little at Waverly being called away so soon.

 

“Of course,” Waverly replies, throwing Nicole an _I’m sorry, I’d really rather stay here with you_ look, before mouthing _later_ to Nicole, and moving back to speak to her customer.

 

Nicole bends down to pay Oakley farewell before inclining her head to Waverly one last time, and making her way out the door. She knows it couldn’t have been helped, and she knows of course Waverly’s customers take precedence in situations like that, they have to, lest people begin to put the pieces together about the true depth of their relationship.

 

If there _is_ to be depth, that is.

 

Nicole’s heart feels a little heavy as she makes her way down to the jail, only worsened by the **MISSING** posters that flag her short journey down the street. She’s almost there when she passes two men, farmers by the looks. Nicole vaguely recognises them as two people one of the other deputies had warned her to keep an eye out for, favouring fists after a drink, discussing something around one of the **MISSING** posters. They don’t seem to notice Nicole walking towards them, making no effort to adjust or lower their speech whatsoever, so Nicole can hear them both with perfect clarity as she approaches.

 

“I hope they’ve been out to the Earp farm,” one of them says, and Nicole feels her breath stick in her throat. “All kinda queerness happens around those girls. I don’t know which one’s worse, the murderer or the witch with all her little potions and cures.”

 

“Heresy, it is. I’ll bet they’ve got _somethin_ ’ to do with it, at least,” the other says, or rather _seethes,_ and Nicole feels herself grow angrier, half inclined to stop, but not confident she’ll actually be able to control herself around them.

 

They incline their heads briefly in her direction as she walks past them, Nicole doing the same out of compulsory politeness, quickening her pace to carry herself as far as possible from them. The _murderer_ comment doesn’t surprise Nicole, unfortunately. She’s more than aware now of this town’s unfair and untrue assertions surrounding the elder surviving Earp sister. It’s the other comment that unsettles her.

 

The _witch_ comment.

 

And honestly, given the overall lack of education and heightened devotion to religion that Nicole’s taken note of around the place, she’s not surprised, but it disturbs her nonetheless.

 

_Witch_.

 

She’s never even thought once, remotely or otherwise, about Waverly’s potential associations with witchcraft, and she knows it’s ridiculous, because Waverly isn’t a witch, she _can’t_ be, but she doesn’t exactly have a good deal to build a defence that she’s not. Because the way her elixirs and concoctions work, to the uneducated mind, to someone who doesn’t understand anything of medicinal herbology or botany, it _would_ seem like magic. And she’s sure Waverly’s continually bright disposition probably seems like magic or witchcraft, too, but Nicole knows it’s not.

 

Doesn’t she?

 

_No_ , Nicole thinks to herself sternly. She knows it’s not, she _knows_ it’s not, but she can’t deny there are a great number of things working to the argument that she is, or _could_ be. Because Nicole’s never seen someone so good with animals that don’t have a prior familiarity with her, and she’s never seen someone so good with medicinal aid, ever, doctor or wise woman or otherwise.

 

And then there’s their connection.

 

If there was anything that would make Nicole falter in her own defence, if there was anything that would make Nicole need to truly stop and think, it would be that. The feeling that exists between the two of them. Because that... _that_ feels like magic.

 

But she can’t be. She simply can’t be. And Nicole knows she has nothing to do with the disappearances, she _knows_ that. She’s just not quite so confident and sure on the other.

 

The matter is heavy on her mind as she makes her way to the jail, forefront in her thoughts even when she walks in, only driven out by the tired look on Nedley’s face while he talks to a frantic man and woman, who Nicole can only surmise are the parents of one of the missing girls.

 

_God help us,_ Nicole thinks to herself _. I don’t even know whose parents they are, we have so many missing._ Too many missing. Far too many missing.

 

She quietly makes her way over to his desk, trying not to startle or interrupt, but keen to offer support however she can.

 

“I told you,” Nedley says to the couple, and Nicole can hear the exhaustion in his voice. “I told you we’d resume search at first light, which we have done. I know it’s hard, but I’m not sendin’ my own people out into danger, I’m just not. I won’t have more guilt on my hands.”

 

“But your deputies are men,” the man says roughly, his voice growing louder. “Your deputies are men, and they’re strong, and these are women, Sheriff. Some _girls,_ and you’re tellin’ me they should be left out god only knows where, alone?”

 

“Firstly,” Nedley replies calmly, and Nicole can tell how difficult it is for him to keep a handle on his frustration, but he’s trying. Hard. “My deputies are _not_ all men. With respect, I’d like you to meet Deputy Haught here, who moved to be with us earlier in the week. And secondly, my other deputies have families of their own. I’m not gonna put another girl’s father in danger like that. I just can’t. One life isn’t greater than that of another man. You’d best dissuade yourself of that notion quick, if it’s in your head. You hear me?”

 

“She’s just so young,” the girl’s mother pleads. “She’s a baby herself, Sheriff.”

 

“I know she is,” Nedley replies with crippling sympathy. “I know, and that’s why we’re out there doin’ everythin’ we can.”

 

“Will _she_ go?” the man says, tossing his head in Nicole’s direction, and Nicole has to stop herself from bristling at his tone.

 

“If Deputy Haught permits,” Nedley says carefully, narrowing his eye at the man. “If she permits, then she’ll go out on the second patrol at midday to relieve the others.”

 

“And she’s as good as the men?” the father asks again, and Nicole clenches her jaw now to stop from snapping. “How can you be sure? You’ll admit she’ll be weaker, surely.”

 

“Deputy Haught has more experience than two of my other deputies, and she’s the best investigator in town,” Nedley says coldly, and Nicole takes a significant comfort in his defence and support of her. “You’d be lucky to have her offer to help.”

 

“Will you?” the girl’s mother pleads, ignoring her husband and looking directly at Nicole. “Please, Deputy. You’ll help, won’t you?”

 

“Of course I will,” Nicole says firmly, straightening her back as the man stands, a little satisfied when she just beats him in height. “I’ll do everythin’ I can, ma’am.”

 

“You’ll do well to mind your manners the next time you bring yourself in here, man,” Nedley says to the father with a tone that brokers no argument. “I know you’re angry and you’re frightened, but the second you cast doubt on one of mine because of her gender again, that’ll be the last time you can come here for help.”

 

“Of course, Sheriff,” his wife says apologetically, and the man at least has the good sense to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry… we’re just… we’re _lost_.”

 

“I know you are,” Nedley replies, softening a little. “And we won’t stop until we find them all, but you’ve gotta leave us to do that, alright?”

 

“Yes, sir,” the man says finally, throwing Nicole a look that she thinks is regret, before the two of them make their way out of the jail, hand in hand.

 

“Jesus Christ,” Nedley mumbles once he knows they’re out of earshot, dropping his head into his hands. “I don’t know what the hell else to do, Haught. They just keep disappearin’. I put a curfew in place, and people are _still_ missin’.”

 

“You’re doin’ everythin’ you can, sir,” Nicole says, trying to reassure him as much as she can. “You’re doin’ everythin’ I would be doin’ in your place.”

 

“Are you sure?” Nedley asks her suddenly, looking up to Nicole a little desperately, and she knows in that moment that he’s truly asking for her opinion. “Am I really doin’ everythin’ I can? Is there anythin’ I’m not doin’ that you’d do if you were in my shoes, Haught? Am I lettin’ people down?”

 

“No, sir,” Nicole says, shaking her head rapidly, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to Nedley. “You are doin’ everythin’ right. Everythin’, I promise you. There’s not a thing I’d change, or do differently, I think it’s just…”

 

“Just _what_ , Haught?” Nedley grumbles in reply, raising an eyebrow to her. “I’m gettin’ old? It’s alright to let a few things slip?”

 

“Not at all, sir,” Nicole answers, frowning at him. “I was goin’ to say, sometimes evil bests us, because evil doesn’t play by the rules. And when they don’t, and we don’t even know what game we’re playin’, _all_ we can do is our best. And I believe we’re doin’ that. I wouldn’t be sittin’ idle if I thought there was more we could be doin’, believe me.”

 

Nedley takes a moment to process the information Nicole’s just given him before he nods, obviously accepting it.

 

“I do believe you, Haught. I do, thank you,” he says finally, and Nicole’s just about to offer some final condolence when company arrives.

 

“Chris, I thought you wouldn’t be here for a while,” Nedley says, standing to greet his daughter, as well as her two companions. “Mornin’, Waverly. Are you well?”

 

“I am, sir,” Waverly replies thoughtfully, and the unexpected sight of her is making Nicole’s heart flutter. “And you?”

 

“Oh, this old man’s seen better days, that’s for sure,” Nedley says, and his voice sounds a little grumpy, but the smile he has for Waverly is soft. “But if I’ve ever seen a sight ought to cheer me up, I think you’re holdin’ it. This must be Oakley, huh?”

 

“I told him the second I got home after meetin’ her,” Chrissy says by way of explanation, smiling a little sheepishly. “He’s been houndin’ me to bring her down ever since.”

 

“Not _houndin_ ’,” Nedley says a little gruffly, trying for nonchalant, and failing miserably when his eyes soften as Waverly puts her on the floor and she runs straight for him.

 

“Houndin’,” Chrissy says, like the proof is in front of them then, and they all smile when Nedley drops into a crouch and greets a highly excitable Oakley.

Chrissy bends down to speak with her father, and pat Oakley, too, giving Nicole and Waverly a moment alone.

 

“Hi,” Waverly says a little shyly, wrapping her arms around her middle, and the slightly self-protective gesture makes Nicole’s hands itch with the need to comfort her.

 

“Hi,” Nicole says equally shyly, moving a little closer to Waverly. “Was everythin’ alright after I left?”

 

“Oh, fine,” Waverly says easily, nodding before dropping her eyes to their feet. “I’m sorry I had to attend to her and set you to the side.”

 

“It’s more than alright,” Nicole says gently, reaching subtly for Waverly’s elbow. “It’s your job, Waverly. I understand.”

 

At Nicole’s touch, Waverly softens, dropping her arms to her sides, and it feels like she opens, too, breaking whatever wall there was between them.

 

“Thank you,” Waverly replies quietly, before moving a little closer to Nicole. “I was wonderin’ if later, you’d like to—”

 

She doesn’t get to finish the thought, though, because the next second Wynonna and Doc walk into the jail, both of them looking like they’ve been chased there by a ghost.

 

“What’s wrong?” Waverly says first, stepping towards her sister, but reaching backwards to find Nicole’s body with her hand. “What’s happened?”

 

“A body,” Wynonna says, simply, and Nicole feels Waverly go slack at her side as her own stomach _plummets_.

 

She looks like she wants to say another word, but her voice fails her, so Doc steps into her side in an echo of the way Nicole steps into Waverly’s, and finishes what she can not.

 

“We found a body.”

  


-

  


“Where is she now?” Nedley asks grimly a few moments later, after everyone is seated, save Doc and Nicole standing behind Wynonna and Waverly’s chairs, respectively.

 

“We shifted her to the barn,” Wynonna explains, her face sick-looking, but determined, and for a second, Nicole can see the backbone of Waverly’s that she’s witnessed a handful of times reflected in her sister.

 

“It appeared that she had been dead for… some time,” Doc says as delicately as possible. “It wouldn’t have been right to leave her where she was.”

 

“Where was that?” Waverly asks quietly, leaning back into her chair so Nicole’s knuckles wrapped around the back of it press into her shoulders.

 

“The willow tree,” Wynonna answers thickly, and Nicole can see Waverly pale in front of her, the blood draining from her face exactly as it feels to be doing from Nicole’s.

 

“The willow?” Nicole asks, her voice wavering a little. “You mean, where…”

 

“Yes,” Wynonna affirms, nodding to Nicole with eyes full of hurt, softer than Nicole thinks she’s ever seen them, save looking at her sister. “ _That_ willow.”

 

“Jesus,” Nicole says, beginning to put two and two together. “Had she been moved, had she been…”

 

“There was…” Doc begins before clearing his throat. “There was some evidence that she’d been there since…”

 

Nicole feels her stomach roll, and for a moment she thinks she’s going to be sick with guilt, because they were there, they were right there, and she _didn’t know_.

 

“We could have-” Waverly starts before Wynonna cuts across her, frowning heavily.

 

“No way, baby girl, this ain’t one _drop_ your fault,” Wynonna says firmly, shaking her head. “Nor yours, Deputy. And don’t you go wishin’ you could have done anythin’ to stop it, because I’m as relieved as _hell_ that you didn’t come across whatever monster did this, you hear me?”

 

“Besides,” Doc offers, sighing heavily, and Nicole can see the weight that this is having on him, too, the strain just as much, if not more, than that on Wynonna and Waverly’s shoulders. “It’s our- it’s _my_ responsibility to keep that land safe. I told you it was safe, Deputy, but then I let—”

 

“You didn’t let anythin’ happen, Holliday,” Nedley says, reaching for Chrissy’s hand. “This ain’t on any of us, but the devil who did it. We’ve all been runnin’ ourselves ragged to find them. It’s… we can’t go blamin’ each other, you hear me?”

 

It’s terrible in its singularity, of course it is, but there’s something else that’s contributing to the devastation slowly seeping in through Nicole’s skin, because they were only missing before, these women, these _girls_ , and Nicole had been holding out hope distantly in her mind that they were safe somewhere, being kept captive, but this changes everything.

 

Because whoever’s taking these girls, they’re not kidnaping these women to hold them captive, they’re kidnaping them to kill them.

 

And that changes the game _entirely_.

 

“So what do we do?” Chrissy says quietly, looking to her father for something, be it guidance or reassurance.

 

“You do nothin’, missy,” Nedley says, frowning with concern at his daughter. “Waverly, Wynonna, do you think Gus and Curtis would mind if Chrissy kept them company at the Inn if I need to go out at night?”

 

“Not at all,” Waverly replies easily, smiling at her friend. “And she can come and be with me in the day?”

 

“I think that’s what we’ll do, alright?” Nedley says looking around the group assembled. “Make sure anyone who’s female has someone with them at all times, someone who can defend them both if they have to be out a second after nightfall, even on their own property. I’m not havin’ another soul taken.”

 

“We’ll need to ride back out and move… bring her into town for burial,” Wynonna says, swallowing hard, before looking at Doc.

 

“I’ll come with you,” Nicole offers before looking to Nedley for his approval. “I’ll help bring her back.”

 

“You sure?” Wynonna asks, raising her eyebrow. “It’s not an easy sight, Haught. I wouldn’t blame you for not wantin’ to come.”

 

“This job’s not normally an easy ride,” Nicole says evenly to Wynonna. “I’ve seen more than I’d like to, and I’d like to do this. If I couldn’t do more before, I’d like to… I’d like to help find her some dignity in death. And this isn’t your burden to bear, Wynonna. It’s all of ours to share.”

 

The look she receives in return is somewhere between acknowledgement and appreciation, and Nicole knows that however unpleasant this might be in helping to retrieve this body, she’s absolutely done the right thing in offering her assistance.

 

“In that case, I’ll gratefully accept your offer,” Wynonna says in return, nodding her thanks to Nicole. “If the Sheriff doesn’t have anythin’ he needs you to do right away, it might be best for us to ride out now, before the heat gets to be…”

 

“Good idea,” Nicole says, wincing in agreement before turning to Nedley. “I’ll ask if we can’t stop in at Mattie’s, rather than bringin’ her directly into town? And you could meet us there?”

 

“Good idea, Haught,” Nedley returns, nodding his approval. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to help, even as grim as it is. I’ll meet you there at midday. Earp, that reminds me, you weren’t able to…”

 

“Recognise her, Sheriff?” Wynonna asks, frowning a little. “No, neither of us could call her face to memory, I’m afraid. She looks young, though; not a woman yet.”

 

“If only there was just a single one missin' at that age. Instead, there's so many more,” Nedley growls, thumping his hand on the table. “What a goddamn mess. Thank you for volunteerin’, Haught. I dare say if anyone does see you on your way into town, it’s better they see two women with her, and not two men.”

 

“I’m not so sure, given it’s _me_ that’s one of them,” Wynonna says a little moodily, and Nicole is inclined to agree, but she wouldn’t have it any other way, regardless.

 

“Do you require my assistance?” Doc asks softly, looking to both Wynonna and Nicole. “I’m thinkin’ it might be a good idea to do a wider sweep of the property, just in case…”

 

“As much as I know we need to do that, too, I think it might be good for you to stay in town,” Wynonna says before throwing a meaningful look at Waverly.

 

“Of course,” Doc replies, but there’s still a frown on his forehead. “But, what if you or Deputy Haught require my assistance?”

 

“Well, then we can send for you,” Wynonna says pointedly, looking to Waverly again. “Please, Doc. I know it’s not what… I just couldn’t bear anythin’ happenin’ to…”

 

“I’ll stay,” Doc says easily then, the look on Wynonna’s face making his brow furrow further in concern. “Of course I’ll stay. Perhaps rather than the young women goin’ to the Inn, I could keep them company at Miss Waverly’s shop? If the two of you wouldn’t be strictly opposed?”

 

“Not at all,” Waverly replies, smiling broadly at Doc before looking to Chrissy. “He can play test subject. There are a number of things I’ve been _dyin’_ to try. I’m sure Doc’s man enough. Aren’t you?”

 

“Do your best,” Doc offers easily, winking at her, and Chrissy lights up, too.

 

“That sounds a sight better than havin’ to hang around here, no offence, Daddy,” Chrissy says a little sheepishly.

 

“None taken… I think,” Nedley replies with a growl, and it’s only small, but it lightens the air in the room _just_ enough that Nicole can feel everyone breathe respectively.

 

Nicole catches Doc looking at Wynonna with a slight longing, though, and she knows what it is. She understands his hesitance in staying while Wynonna leaves, because she has exactly the same conflict rolling around in her hands.  She knows it’s the best thing, she knows it’s more important that she go and do this thing with Wynonna, but it feels wrong to separate them at a time like this. And she thinks, too, an additional part is that while he knows that both she and Nicole are more adept at defending themselves than all the other women in this town if need be, they still have no idea what they’re all up against, and if their collective defensive and offensive skill, should it be tested, will be enough.

 

“You’re willin’ to look out for Chrissy, too?” Nedley asks Doc, turning to him win a frown. “I know it’s an extra—”

 

“I’d be honoured to,” Doc says surely, and she watches the weight lift off of Nedley’s shoulders at the assurance.

 

It resonates with Nicole then, how secure in his trust Nedley must be with regards to Doc, that he’s willing to leave the protection of something as precious as Chrissy to him.

 

“Thank you,” Nedley says, nodding while Chrissy moves into the space at her father’s side. “Truly, Doc. Thank you.”

 

“I don’t know about you, Haught, but I’d prefer to do this sooner rather than later,” Wynonna offers, looking across to Nicole. “If you’re ready soon, we should…”

 

“You’re right,” Nicole answers, sighing before looking down to Waverly and speaking softly while the others discuss another matter. “I know you’ll be more than safe with Doc, but…”

 

“I’ll be fine,” Waverly replies, her eyes warm with the concern in Nicole’s voice. “We’ll be fine, but thank you for askin’. Are you gonna be alright?”

 

“I’ll be fine,” Nicole answers quietly, touching Waverly’s shoulder in reassurance. “And I’ll keep an eye on that sister of yours, I promise.”

 

“I’m more worried about her lookin’ after _you_ ,” Waverly admits quietly, and Nicole glows a little at the admission.

 

“You are?” Nicole asks, a little taken aback.

 

“Of course I am,” Waverly replies, a soft look of distress on her face. “I know you’re more than capable of lookin’ after yourself, but do you think I like the idea of you headin’ out there, while we don’t know what’s still lingerin’ around? I know you have to, I know you do, but…”

 

“Ready, Haught?” Wynonna interjects, completely oblivious to the depth of their conversation.

 

“Sure,” Nicole says, looking to Waverly with a worried frown. “You’re…”

 

“Okay,” Waverly nods, finishing for her, her face still worried in spite of her reasonably calm words. “I’m okay. Just promise me you’ll look after each other?”

 

“Of course we will,” Nicole replies, trying not to look as unsettled as she feels, and she thinks it works a little, because Waverly looks to relax, slightly. “You two, also. Three, I should say.”

 

“Don’t worry, we’ll look after Doc,” Waverly says, standing to slide her hand into Doc’s like a well practiced move. “He’ll be just fine.”

 

“I have no doubt,” Nicole laughs a little, before turning to look at Doc when Waverly moves to hug her sister.

 

“I’ll look after your girl. With my life, Deputy. I promise,” Doc says very quietly, so that only Nicole herself can hear, and she nods gratefully before returning the sentiment.

 

“I know you will,” Nicole replies simply, reaching to take his hand briefly. “As will I yours.”

 

“Thank you,” Doc replies, like some great weight has been lifted from his shoulders. “Thank you, Nicole. You’re sure you don’t need my, nor anyone else’s help?”

 

“It’s not a task I’d wish on more people than necessary, Doc,” Nicole returns grimly. “The two of us’ll be fine. She only sounds to be small.”

 

“She is,” Doc says to her, his eyes full of pain, and Nicole can’t express how much respect she has for the fact that Doc uses the present, and not past tense, because this small girl might be lost to them, but she’s not gone, and she deserves as much dignity as they can spare her, now more than ever.

 

Wynonna appears at her side then, clapping her hand on Nicole’s shoulder, announcing her desire to get moving, and Nicole throws one last longing look towards Waverly. She mirrors the look Doc had spared for Wynonna, wishing _desperately_ that they could give one another a lover’s goodbye, and not this half-farewell, before Waverly nods once, as if to say _it’s okay,_ and at that Nicole finds enough strength to leave.

 

“Right,” Nedley says, wrapping his arm around Chrissy and squeezing one last time, seeing to his own farewell. “I’ll meet you two at the stables in a few hours. Take care of each other, alright?”

 

“Will do, sir,” Wynonna says teasingly, only the look on her face is anything but, and she and Nedley share a serious nod before Wynonna makes her way to the door.

 

Nicole manages one final look towards Waverly, trying to sear her soft smile into her mind before she turns and follows Wynonna out and onto the street. There’s a cloud over them in spite of the blazing sunlight outside, and Nicole can’t help but feel like they’re all about to leave for war when she and Wynonna make their way down to the stables, Nicole walking alongside Wynonna’s horse that had been tethered up outside the jail.

 

They’ve made it halfway there before Wynonna speaks, turning to Nicole with a frown.

 

“Have you seen many deaths, Haught?” Wynonna asks, and she’s not jesting, nor joking, the question is as serious as the matter before them. “Have you seen many people die?”

 

“Honestly?” Nicole says in return, giving Wynonna her full attention. “I’ve seen more’n anyone my age should have. I’ve had a few die in my arms, too. I’m no stranger to death, Wynonna, if that’s what you’re worried about. And I’m not scared of it. I hate it, sure, but fear it, I do not.”

 

“Good,” is all Wynonna says simply, but Nicole knows there’s depth to the reasoning there, that Wynonna is glad she’s not afraid, that she’s glad she’ll have someone by her side who won’t shrink back at what they need to do today, and in the days to come.  

 

Nicole doesn’t bother to ask whether Wynonna has seen death, because Nicole knows she has, and not simply that of her family’s at her own hands, but others, as well. Because her eyes are hard like they know what it is to take life, but to see it _go,_ too.

 

They reach Mattie’s without a great deal more conversation, both seemingly caught in their own minds, so Nicole doesn’t actually speak until Mattie walks out to greet them on the porch.

 

“Mornin’ ladies,” Mattie offers with a lowered tone, as if she knows exactly the reason they’re both out here.

 

“Mornin’, Mattie,” Nicole returns solemnly, ducking her head and removing her hat once they reach Mattie, Wynonna staying put on the back of her horse. “I’m afraid we’ve got some bad news.”

 

“You found a body?” Mattie replies perceptively, frowning at Nicole, and Nicole nods in return.

 

“We found a body,” Nicole affirms, before shaking her head apologetically, and turning to Wynonna. “Pardon me, I mean, Wynonna and Doc found a body.”

 

“No matter, Haught,” Wynonna says easily, waving her hand dismissively. “It doesn’t get brighter dependant on how you split it.”

 

“Jesus Christ,” Mattie replies, dropping her head and removing her own hat in a sign of respect. “Where? On the homestead?”

 

“Unfortunately,” Wynonna grumbles, looking down to Mattie regretfully. “Deputy Haught here’s offered to come help me retrieve the poor thing so we can get her buried.”

 

“That’s decent of you, Deputy,” Mattie says, nodding her approval grimly. “Anythin’ I can do to help?”

 

“Actually, there is,” Nicole says carefully, aware of how delicate a matter this is. “We were wonderin’ whether you’d mind terribly, us stoppin’ by here on our way back so we don’t have to bring her into town and arouse panic. This way, the Sheriff can meet us out here, identify her, and notify her parents before anyone else finds out. But, only if you’re willin’, and it’s more than okay if not, too.”

 

“No,” Mattie says shaking her head. “That’s the best course of things, I think. Town panic we’d need like a hole in the head. Best to bring the girl here first. There’s a shed next to the stables, I keep the farm supplies locked in it, it’ll be… she won’t be disturbed there.”

 

“Thank you, Mattie,” Nicole says gratefully, relieved at least that one small part of this morning's difficulties have been resolved. “I - _we_ \- appreciate it.”

 

“You sure you’ll be alright out there?” Mattie asks them finally, before Nicole begins mentally preparing herself for what they must do next. “Don’t need an extra pair of hands?”

 

“It’s a kind offer, but we’ll be just fine,” Wynonna says with a softness that surprises Nicole. “She’s only small, we won’t have any trouble.”

 

“Good lord,” Mattie breathes again, placing her hands on her hips. “So this monster’s killin’ them, huh? When you come back, I’ll gladly join the search for the rest of the girls, Deputy. I’d like to do my part, if I’m welcome.”

 

“Of course,” Nicole says with a grateful sigh. “And help’s more than welcome, Mattie. The greater number we’ve got searchin’, the better.”

 

“I’ll offer my assistance when the Sheriff comes out to meet you,” Mattie offers, nodding along with Nicole’s sentiment. “I’m the meantime, though, you’ll make sure you’re safe, won’t you?”

 

“Of course,” Nicole replies, smiling at Mattie’s concern, and she knows it's under woefully dreadful circumstances, but Nicole can’t help but feel completely woven into this group assembled around her now, and not just an outsider with a few days in this town under her belt.

 

With that, Mattie bids them farewell, and Nicole and Wynonna make their way over to the stables. Lady Jane whinnies the second Nicole walks in through the doors, detecting her scent, and the horse is obviously pleased to see her, but she’s subdued, too, as if picking up on the smell of worry on Nicole’s skin.

 

“Christ, she’s a fine horse,” Wynonna admits, sliding off her own mare to walk over and stroke Lady Jane’s neck while Nicole fixes her saddle on.

 

“She’s a treasure, aren’t you, girl?” Nicole says quietly to the horse, leaning her forehead against the bridge of the horse’s nose when Wynonna moves her hand away. “I’m sorry we need your help with somethin’ you’re not gonna like today, but I promise you it’s important.”

 

Lady Jane makes a noise, as if to say _I’m with you_ , and Nicole smiles at the sense of calm that settles across her then. She opens the stall door, jumping up and into the saddle as Wynonna does exactly the same on her pitch black companion, and slowly they make their way out and onto the road towards the homestead.

 

“You up for a quick ride out there before the sun gets us?” Wynonna asks, turning to Nicole, who nods, squeezing her thighs at Lady Jane’s side, urging her into a slightly faster pace and matching the one set by Wynonna’s horse.

 

The pace is quick, but not quick enough that they can’t still make easy conversation, and after a few minutes of silence, Nicole turns to Wynonna to speak. Because she’s only now struck with the similarities between this small body resting in Wynonna’s barn, and the body of her sister so many years ago, probably lain somewhere similar awaiting burial, and it makes Nicole feel a little sick to think of Wynonna having to relive a nightmare like this.

 

“I don’t mean to dredge up unhappy memories, so tell me to keep my mouth to myself if you wish,” Nicole says carefully, before diverting her eyes, not wishing to make Wynonna feel uncomfortable. “But, are you alright, Wynonna? I understand this might feel a little… I just want you to know, you’re not obliged to do anythin’. I know you’re more than capable, but that doesn’t mean you have to be uncomfortable. I can fetch her, and you can keep sentry if you’d like.”

 

“You know, you’re a surprising character, Haught,” Wynonna says in reply, causing Nicole to turn to her with a slightly amused frown.

 

“How so?” Nicole asks, eyeing Wynonna a little warily while Wynonna looks back with a grin.

 

“Well, you present this front that comes across as very… deputy-like,” Wynonna replies, smiling as she does so. “But then you get to know you a little more, and you’re… you’re surprisingly kind to those that deserve it.”

 

“You’re sayin’ you deserve it?” Nicole says a little playfully, sensing that this kind of banter is more than okay with Wynonna.

 

“Of course I do,” Wynonna returns simply. “I murdered my family, didn’t you hear? I deserve all the kindness you’ve got to offer.”

 

“I know you don’t really think that,” Nicole says after a moment. “And I know that you didn’t do that, either. You were a child, Wynonna. It’s a terrible tragedy, a _terrible_ tragedy, but you’re no murderer, any more’n I am.”

 

“You really think so?” Wynonna asks quietly, and the playfulness is gone from her voice, replaced with an unusual hesitation. “You don’t think I murdered them?”

 

“Of course I don’t,” Nicole affirms strongly, making sure to meet Wynonna’s eye. “I know you didn’t. And I’ll kindly defend my opinion against anyone who thinks otherwise, thank you very much.”

 

Wynonna nods once, and then twice, and Nicole can’t be certain, but she thinks she catches Wynonna’s eyes misting as she does so. They don’t talk for a minute or so, but Wynonna speaks first when they do, and it takes Nicole completely by surprise when she does.

 

“I can see what draws my sister to you,” Wynonna says, and her tone is casual enough, but Nicole understands the depth behind it. “She needs kindness in her life, and loyalty, and devotion, and I think she can sense that in you, without you even havin’ to display any of it. She’s a remarkable judge of character, you know?”

 

“So I’ve come to understand,” Nicole replies fondly, smiling at the thought of Waverly, and she catches Wynonna watching her reaction to the mention of her sister.

 

“What’s your story, Haught?” Wynonna asks then, turning a little in her saddle to look at Nicole curiously. “How did you come to Purgatory? It obviously can’t be under completely dubious circumstances, or my sister wouldn’t have entertained your company for more than a second.”

 

“How do you know I’ve told her?” Nicole asks, a hint of lightness in her voice like before.

 

“You’ve _met_ Waverly Earp, right?” Wynonna asks dryly, raising an eyebrow to Nicole. “That girl makes you tell her things without even realisin’ you’re doin’ so. I know she’s got your history out of you.”

 

And Nicole doesn’t mean it to, but a thought settles in her mind regarding the witch comment again, because she can’t deny that Waverly has what Nicole assumed to be a natural magnetism and ease to her, but even Wynonna’s noticed that apparent magic to her character, and maybe it _does_ mean something.

 

“And she hasn’t told you?” Nicole asks, genuinely curious as to whether Waverly has said anything to her sister.

 

“Said it’s your story to tell,” Wynonna replies with a shrug, before looking to Nicole. “Fair enough, too. Just been waitin’ for an opportunity to ask you without everyone else around, and it would’ve been more pleasant under different circumstances, but you work with what this shitty world gives you sometimes, huh?”

 

And it’s not that she’s surprised that Waverly has kept her confidence, it’s more that she knows how close Waverly is to her sister, and to tell one seems like it would mean telling the other, but she’s a little touched Waverly had honoured the information and told Wynonna to seek it out herself.

 

“There’s not a great deal to tell, I’m afraid,” Nicole admits, shrugging herself. “How far back do you want?”

 

“We’ve got the mornin’ together, Deputy,” Wynonna says, looking to Nicole openly. “Start from the beginnin’?”

 

And so Nicole recounts her past, ready to pause around the parts of her life that involve Shae, changing her mind when she realises that Wynonna will likely appreciate some kind of proof that Nicole is prepared to defend both herself and Waverly should anything ever be known or found out about their relationship, that she’s not the kind of person who freezes or runs.

 

“I don’t mean any offence, but this Shae seems like a real asshole,” Wynonna says, frowning at Nicole when she reaches the end of her story.

 

“She was scared,” Nicole says simply, and she won’t deny that the story comes across in such a way as to paint Shae in a dull light, no matter how kindly Nicole speaks of the way things ended between them, but she doesn’t hold any lingering ill will towards the other woman. “People do strange things when they’re scared.”

 

“You’ve told Waverly about her, yes?” Wynonna asks, eyeing Nicole warily.

 

“Of course,” Nicole says, nodding easily. “I’ve told Waverly everythin’.”

 

“I’ll hand it to you, Haught, you’re braver than I am,” Wynonna offers after a moment’s thought, and Nicole furrows her brow, not quite understanding.

 

“Brave?” Nicole asks lightly, watching Wynonna carefully, and she can almost see the homestead in the distance now. “What makes you say that?”

 

“I can’t imagine what it must be to have your love held in such disregard by everyone around you,” Wynonna explains, and Nicole’s more than a little surprised by the admission. “I think it’s brave, to love truly, irrespective of what everyone else thinks of you.”

 

“I’ve never thought of it that way, if I’m honest,” Nicole admits then, thinking deeply. “I’ve just…. I never thought it was fair, that people had a right to love, and I didn’t. People who squandered that right, too. People that abused the right. So I loved, anyway.”

 

“Like I said,” Wynonna says, her voice impressed. “Brave.”

 

“Or stupid,” Nicole says lightly, and they both laugh a little, silence falling between them for a moment before Wynonna speaks again.

 

“I was worried for Waverly for years, you know? Ever since she told me of her own… inclinations,” Wynonna admits quietly, and Nicole almost has to strain to hear her. “I wasn’t so worried about people findin’ out, people hate us already, you know, but I was worried about her bein’ lonely for the rest of her life, because I didn’t think we’d ever have someone here in this shit heap of a town that was brave enough to acknowledge that they were different, too. I never thought she’d find anyone willin’ to put themselves on the line like that, let alone someone who is worthy of her.”

 

“You think I’m…” Nicole replies quietly, her throat thickening with Wynonna’s words, in solace for Waverly, but in recognition of Wynonna’s apparent acceptance of her, too.

 

“‘Course I do,” Wynonna says casually, looking out at her home, now in full view. “I would have run you away from her days ago if I didn’t think you were. You’re good for her, Haught. She deserves the _deepest_ kind of love, and I think you’re one of a very small number of people able to give her that.”

 

Nicole’s so soundly touched by Wynonna’s words that she has to bite her lip to keep from making a sound, but it makes her heart hurt, too, because, she doesn’t know if this is still what Waverly wants. She doesn’t know if Waverly is still willing to give Nicole the love in return that Nicole has ready and spilling out of her hands for her. Wynonna doesn’t give her a chance to ruminate on that for very long, though, because she interrupts Nicole’s thoughts with a parting sentiment that lifts Nicole’s mood considerably. Temporarily, anyway.

 

“I think you’re good for her, Deputy,” Wynonna starts, and Nicole can hear the _but_ before it’s even spoken. “But, if you hurt her, I’ll have to kill you just the same. You know that, right?”

 

“Honestly, Wynonna, I thought you’d begin your speech with that,” Nicole says light-heartedly. “Tell you what, though. If I ever hurt Waverly, I’ll bring my own spade and dig the grave first, okay?”

 

“I’ll hold you to your word,” Wynonna says warningly, before her face softens a little, but it doesn’t last for long, because the archway to the homestead stretches out above them, and a chill descends upon them both in spite of the sun above.

 

Lady Jane snorts, stomping her foot the second they cross that line, and Nicole has to reach forward to stroke her head calmingly.

 

“Easy, girl,” Nicole coos, trying to keep the horse calm, and it’s amazing, because they’re a way off from the barn where Nicole knows the body is, but Lady Jane is obviously bothered about something already.

 

“Clever animal,” Wynonna says in a quietly calm voice next to her.

 

“It’s the only thing that really unsettles her,” Nicole explains, looking out over the front of the Earp Property for a sign of anything else that might be bothering the animal. “She can normally smell death before I see it. I’m surprised I didn’t notice anythin’ last night?”

 

“Maybe bein’ in a new place threw her off?” Wynonna offers by way of rationale. “Different surroundin’s? Too much to take in?”

 

“Normally that’s when she’s the _most_ alert,” Nicole replies, frowning, both confused and a little worried. “Strange. It’s like there is, or _was_ , somethin’ interferin’ with her senses that isn’t here now?”

 

“Christ, I wouldn’t put it past this place,” Wynonna mumbles under her breath, and for the first time, Nicole gets a glance of the same uneasiness that she knows resides in Waverly with regards to this place.

 

“Do you want to have a break, before we…” Nicole asks delicately when they make it to the front porch. “Or would you rather…”

 

“Let’s see her taken to Nedley, and then we can have a break?” Wynonna suggests tactfully, heading her horse in the direction of the barn, and Nicole follows behind.

 

She can smell death before they even open the barn doors, and it’s not that it’s a bad smell - yet, that is - Doc having made a resourceful arrangement of what look like some of Waverly’s more aromatic herbs and flowers as a small, respectful bouquet resting on top of and around the tragically small bundle wrapped in a blanket from the house.

 

“God, she’s so…” Nicole says, her throat thickening at the sight of the tiny body bundled carefully in front of them.

 

“It doesn’t bear thinkin’ about, Haught,” Wynonna says stiffly, and her voice is tight, but Nicole knows it’s not uncaring, it’s the complete opposite in fact, she’s trying to spare Nicole from being struck with the painful reality in front of them.

 

Only, Nicole doesn’t think she should be spared. Not completely. She thinks she deserves to suffer, a little, because this person, this small being, is here because they’ve failed her, _collectively_ they’ve failed her, and it doesn’t feel right not to feel something.

 

“It was very kind of Doc to leave her like this,” Nicole says, unsurprised by how rough her voice is when it leaves her throat.

 

“He’s got the biggest heart of anyone I know, that man,” Wynonna says with a quick smile. “Except maybe Waverly, of course. God, that girl’s heart is about five times the size of the rest of her body.”

 

“I’d say Doc’s isn’t far behind,” Nicole offers kindly, floored by the thoughtfulness behind this gesture, because he’s given this little girl exactly what Nicole had wanted to give her: dignity, and grace, and some small softness in death.

 

“Not far off, no,” Wynonna replies, a faraway fond look in her eyes before they settle to the task at hand. “I’m happy to take her on the back of my horse if Lady J’s a little skittish?”

 

“No,” Nicole says quickly, shaking her head and casting a glance at the girl. “No, I’m the deputy. It’s my burden to carry, Wynonna. You’ve carried her this far, let me take her for a while.”

 

Wynonna doesn’t say anything in reply, she just nods, diverting her gaze, and Nicole suspects it’s because she _can’t_ speak, and Nicole doesn’t want to make anything of it, but she gives Nicole’s hand a quick squeeze before moving closer to the girl. She’s not going to be heavy, Nicole knows she’s not, it’s not about having to carry her a long way, but she beckons Lady Jane closer, regardless.

 

She wants to make sure Lady Jane isn’t going to bolt, wanting the horse to familiarise itself with the scent, so she clicks her tongue, gesturing the animal forward. She stubbornly hangs back to begin with, which in any other circumstance Nicole might laugh at, until Nicole turns around and gives her a look, at which the horse moves gingerly closer.

 

“It’s okay, girl,” Nicole says, reaching out to reassure her friend before she does anything else, wanting the animal to know she’s here for her, too. “It’s okay, I promise. We’ve gotta help get this little girl somewhere she can rest, okay?”

 

Lady Jane snorts then, but it’s soft, as if wanting Nicole to know that she’s here for her, as well, before pressing the end of her nose against Nicole’s cheek, and it takes almost everything Nicole has to swallow the thickness in her throat. With the horse settled, Nicole has nothing left to do but secure the small body on Lady Jane’s back, so she takes a deep breath before crossing herself quickly.

 

She’s not a religious woman, never has been, and she doesn’t even think the prayer is to God as much as someone, _anyone_ else, but it feels important to do something. Wynonna says something quietly under her breath, too - a prayer of her own, Nicole thinks - before watching Nicole set to work.

 

She almost cries again when she slides her arms beneath the wrapped form and lifts, because she’s so light, _too_ light, _far_ too light, and the tragedy of the moment is very nearly overwhelming. Nicole clicks her tongue again, and Lady Jane lowers herself onto her knees so Nicole can rest the draped form over her rear, behind the saddle, and Nicole knows it’s going to be a slower ride back into town, because she doesn’t want to tie the girl there, resolving to hold her in place instead.

 

“Here,” Wynonna offers, holding a small bundle of flowers up for Nicole to take and tuck gently beneath the tie holding the wrapping, and it settles Nicole’s heart a little to know they’re doing the girl as much of a kindness as they possibly can.

 

“Thank you,” Nicole says quietly, swiping at a stray tear quickly, but Wynonna catches it anyway, walking over to rest her hand on Nicole’s shoulder.

 

“No shame in crying, Haught,” Wynonna says softly, and the touch is more of a comfort than Nicole was expecting. “Both Doc and I spent the whole time we were gettin’ her ready to move with tears runnin’ down our cheeks. I think we do service to her memory by mournin’ her, even if we didn’t know her.”

 

“I think you’re right,” Nicole says, sniffing softly before patting Lady Jane on her haunches to gesture that she can stand up, holding onto the girl while she does so to ensure she’s reasonably secure without bindings.

 

“Ready?” Wynonna asks quietly, looking to Nicole. “Anythin’ you need before we go?”

 

“Just one thing,” Nicole says, and she knows it’s not overly pleasant, but it’s important for her to know the face of this little girl.

 

She draws the wrapping apart to set her eyes on the girl properly for the first time, and she almost loses her calm again. She’s beautiful, with little blonde curls and a scattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose, and the injustice of this whole awful situation flares hot in Nicole’s belly.

 

The little face looks peaceful, more so than Nicole was expecting, and in an instant, she knows that Doc and Wynonna have gone out of their way to make her appear as such, so that when her parents do finally see her, they have some peace in the fact that she appears to have _gone_ easily. She looks vaguely familiar, too, and Nicole can’t quite place how, or why, because she’s sure she’s never met this little girl before.

 

“The **MISSING** posters,” Wynonna says by way of an explanation, and Nicole feels her blood chill at that, because Wynonna’s absolutely right. That’s where Nicole knows her from.

 

“Jesus _Christ_ ,” Nicole breathes, dropping her head as a new wave of grief rolls over her, only feeling her ribs ease when Wynonna touches her shoulder again.

 

She’s not sure what it is about this that’s upsetting her so badly, because she’s seen more bodies than she can put a number to, women and children both, but more often than not, they’ve been taken by some force like illness or poverty, or accident: needless and tragic, _sure_ , but not maliciously taken like this.

 

“Come on, Haught,” Wynonna says softly, prompting Nicole on. “Let's get her back to her parents, huh?”

 

“Yeah,” Nicole replies, straightening her back and hardening her heart for what she knows will only be worse once they get the little girl back into town. “Thanks, Earp. For…”

 

And she’s not sure what her next words are. _Thank you for giving me the space to grieve,_ or _thank you for not making me feel like a fool for grieving,_ or something, but she doesn’t need to complete her sentence, because Wynonna knows.

 

“I’ve got your back, Haught,” Wynonna says with a frown, but Nicole’s beyond touched, because she knows Wynonna means it, now and beyond now, too.

 

Nicole turns back to her, placing her palm on Wynonna’s shoulder in thanks, before climbing up onto Lady Jane’s back carefully.

 

“I’ll ride just behind you,” Wynonna offers after climbing up onto her own horse. “Just to make sure she doesn’t shift, so you don’t need to keep turnin’ around.”

 

Nicole nods her thanks before nudging Lady Jane into a slow walk, allowing the horse to quicken her pace just slightly, obviously as eager as Nicole is to see their burden put to rest. The ride back is mostly silent, and uneventful, thank goodness, both of them so completely lost in their own minds, and they reach the edge of Mattie’s farm without issue. Mattie’s waiting for them when they return, the enormous hound from the previous night standing at her heels as if guarding its master, and it gives Nicole some small comfort to know that Mattie isn’t alone out here.

 

“Everythin’ alright, ladies?” Mattie asks when they come within speaking distance.

 

“As fine as it can be,” Nicole nods a little grimly in reply, before casting her eye around for the shack Mattie had mentioned earlier.

 

“Follow me,” Mattie offers, watching Nicole’s train of thought, and making her way in the direction she’s currently pointing. “It’s just behind the house.”

 

Nicole and Wynonna follow behind, not bothering to dismount just yet, unsure how far it is to the structure in question, relieved when it appears ahead of them as soon as they round the side of the house. They’re near the door when the dog at Mattie’s heels barks loudly, and they all spin in unison, reaching for their weapons like some beautiful piece of unwritten choreography, all three sighing when they recognise Nedley and his white and liver-coloured mare.

 

“Settle, you,” Mattie says to the dog, and it quiets instantly, like she has some magical mute power over the dog. “It’s only the Sheriff. He’s a friend, remember?”

 

The dog bounds over to inspect him regardless, and they watch Nedley dismount to greet the dog before making his way over to the women.

 

“Fine work, ladies,” Nedley says evenly, and Nicole can feel the thanks in his words to both her and Wynonna, irrespective of his dull tone. “It’s a good thing you’ve done. Did you have any trouble?”

 

“None at all, sir,” Nicole replies, meeting his eye before it travels to the small wrapped bundle, still draped over the haunches of Lady Jane.

 

“Did you do this?” Nedley asks Wynonna once he notices the small bunch of flowers beneath the tie across the wrappings.

 

“And Doc,” Wynonna answers gently, and Nedley surprises them both, stepping forward to shake Wynonna’s hand, resting his other hand on top of their clasped ones, and Nicole can feel his respect for Wynonna grow exponentially.

 

“Thank you, Wynonna,” Nedley says, deeply grateful, his eyes a little glassy before he turns to the girl again. “You’ve done her a great dignity, I think.”

 

“I recognised her as one of the **MISSING** posters,” Nicole says quietly, frowning. “I’m not sure… I can’t recall which one exactly, but…”

 

Nedley nods to her in understanding before moving past them to pull back the blanket as Nicole had done, his face falling when he does.

 

“Jesus,” he curses, setting his hands on his hips as he tries to steady himself. “I think she’s the second we found out about, Haught. That first couple you met?”

 

“I remember, sir,” Nicole replies softly, moving closer and tapping on the horse’s haunches so she’ll kneel again and allow Nicole or Nedley to lift the girl off. “Will you be wantin’ me to do anythin’?”

 

“No. No it’s alright, Haught,” Nedley returns, looking to her as if surprised to find her next to him. “I’ll make sure she’s alright here for a short time while I go and advise the parents, you head back into town. I want you to have a rest before you relieve the others, alright?”

 

“I’m fine, sir,” Nicole tries to say, but Nedley shakes his head, narrowing his eyes kindly.

 

“Have a rest, Haught,” he says again, firmer this time. “I mean it. I know you want to help, but I need to make sure my people have the stamina to keep this up until we can get to the bottom of things. I can’t afford to burn anyone out. Go have a meal at the Inn, or find somewhere quiet, anythin’, just have a breather before you get back there. That’s an order, alright?”

 

“Doc and I might join up with you and your men later,” Wynonna offers while she rests against her horse. “But I think I’ll call by Waverly and Chrissy on my way in. Make sure they haven’t poisoned Doc yet, and maybe call on my aunt, too. You want to come along, Haught? Have a drink at the saloon, or Waverly’s, before you head back out?”

 

Nicole’s struck with something that she can’t quite identify at the mention of Waverly’s name, overtaken completely with the need to go to her, to see her, to hold Waverly’s hands in her own and feel her pulse gently beating beneath Nicole’s fingertips. But she knows she shouldn’t. She knows she shouldn’t do anythin’ that compromises her ability to do her job, but when she thinks about it, it’s actually more than that behind her immediate reaction. Because she’s aware of the state she’s in emotionally at present, and she’s not sure she wants to subject Waverly to it.

 

She knows Waverly won’t mind, she knows Waverly would welcome it, in fact, but she doesn’t want a slightly compromised emotional state to cause Waverly to take pity on her, particularly if Waverly isn’t entirely sure where her feelings for Nicole lie. Particularly if her seeing Nicole like this would cause her to make a decision based on that, and not on the fact that the decision is what she truly wants.

 

She’d much rather present to Waverly a little calmer, in a better state of mind, to ensure that any reaction Waverly has or decision she makes isn’t biased by her feeling sorry for Nicole in any way.

 

“I thank you kindly for the offer, Wynonna,” Nicole says gratefully, hoping that Wynonna won’t take it as a slight that she doesn’t accept. “But I think I’d best refrain while I’m still on duty. Later, perhaps.”

 

The look of conflict on her face must register with Wynonna, because she pulls Nicole aside while Nedley and Mattie lift the body down and move her into the shed, her hand reassuring at Nicole’s elbow.

 

“‘Course,” Wynonna says softly, easing her tone at what must be a worried look on Nicole’s face. “I’ll make sure she’s okay, Haught, and I’ll tell her you’re alright, too. Stay here with Mattie. I think she’d appreciate the company with the girl here. You can see Waverly later.”

 

And of course she needs to stay, it’s her duty to in fact, she’s just a little conflicted, too, because she feels like she has a duty to Waverly, as well. But Waverly has Wynonna. Wynonna who has very kindly offered to mind her sister in Nicole’s stead, a task she has no duty or obligation to do for Nicole, but has offered to do regardless, relieving her, in part, of the immediate _practical_ urgency of that task, even if the _emotional_ urgency is gnawing insistently on her bones, telling her to ride as fast as Lady Jane will take her back into town.

 

She knows the right thing to do though is to stay here with Mattie for a while and wait until she herself calms a little. She knows it’s the right thing for everyone, for the little girl, too, so she nods at Wynonna.

 

“Thank you,” Nicole says with as much weight as she can give the words.

 

“I know, Nicole,” Wynonna replies quietly, smiling a little. “Doc’ll say the same to you the second he sees you for keepin’ me outta trouble this mornin’.”

 

“Nonsense,” Nicole returns lightly, knocking her shoulder against Wynonna’s gently. “You did a fine job of that yourself.”

 

“You think he’ll believe that?” Wynonna asks with a wry smile, scoffing a little. “I don’t think it likely, somehow. You can try and tell him regardless, if you’d like, and watch him laugh in return. I’ll be off now, though. I’ll see you later, perhaps, Sheriff.”

 

“I appreciate it, Earp,” Nedley says in acknowledgement of Wynonna’s offer. “Go and see your family, and if you want to help later, we’ll gladly take it, but if not, then I appreciate your help so far, more’n I can say.”

 

“Of course,” Wynonna replies with a shrug, dropping her hat on her head before looking to Nedley again. “This isn’t just your burden, Sheriff. It’s all of ours. Don’t forget that, alright? You’ve got more than a few people standin’ by your side, regardless of how things play out.”

 

“Careful, Wynonna,” Nedley says gruffly, before smiling. “I’ll continue to think you’re a nice person if you’re not careful.”

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll disabuse you of that notion in no time,” Wynonna says, winking at him and bidding farewell to Mattie and Nicole before urging her horse to turn around and pace into a run.

 

Nicole, Nedley, and Mattie watch her gallop the short road into town, before turning back to one another.

 

“You’re more’n welcome to stay here and have a drink if you’d like Deputy?” Mattie says next to her, picking up on the half-truth reasoning Nicole had given before. “I can accompany you back into town in a short while, perhaps help in the search or somethin’, if you’ll have me, Sheriff?”

 

“Gladly, Mattie, I appreciate the offer,” he says gratefully, nodding in thanks. “I think you should take a moment, too, Haught. I think a stiff drink’d do you good, even though you’re on duty.”

 

Nicole hesitates for a moment before looking between her companions, registering the fact that there’s no use in her trying to convince them she doesn’t need it, resigning herself to agree instead.

 

“One drink,” Nicole says, looking to Nedley for his approval that one drink is enough, pleased when he nods in response. “I’d be honoured to join you, if I’m not too much of an imposition?”

 

“Not at all,” Mattie replies, turning to Nedley. “Can we offer you anythin’ before you leave, Sheriff? A drink might do you good, too?”

 

“It’s very temptin’, but I’d best not,” Nedley returns with a frown. “Save me one for next time, hmm? Or for when we catch this bastard.”

 

“You’ve got yourself a deal,” Mattie says, smiling tightly. “And if you need anythin’ else, or if you need to come back out here and I’m out searchin’, you know where everythin’ is, don’t you?”

 

“I do, thank you,” Nedley replies gratefully. “I’d best get goin’. Haught, don’t rush, alright? It might not feel like it now, but you know this’ll knock you on your ass later. I know you know that, so take it easy, alright?”

 

“Yes, sir,” Nicole says, nodding, and more than a little touched by his words. “You look after yourself, too. _That’s_ an order. We won’t be any good with a run-down Sheriff.”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nedley replies with a soft laugh, throwing one last regretful look at the shack, before jumping up onto his horse’s back and urging her on. “Take care, ladies.”

 

He’s gone in a small cloud of disturbed dirt, leaving Nicole and Mattie alone, watching him make his way onto the road back into town.

 

“A drink then,” Mattie offers, gesturing for Nicole to follow her up and onto the porch. “I’ll fetch the bottle and a couple of glasses.”

 

Nicole takes the proffered seat, looking out onto the front yard, waiting for Mattie to return, frowning when she does so with two glasses, a glass decanter with a thick looking brown liquid, and a small pail full of water.

 

Nicole can smell something vaguely aromatic coming out of it, looking in to see a few sprigs of something definitely botanical, before looking up to Mattie with a frown.

 

“It’s cleansin’ water,” she says by way of explanation, setting the pail at their feet, washing her hands, tossing a pinch of water over her shoulder, before she pours them a drink. “Somethin’ Waverly taught me actually. To wash my hands after touchin’ anythin’...”

 

“Dead?” Nicole offers, to which Mattie nods gravely. “Why? What for? What are the herbs?”

 

“She calls ‘em somethin’ like _antiseptic_? And the water has to be hot, real hot, too,” Mattie frowns, trying to recall the proper term Waverly must have taught her. “She told me that I should wash my hands, just in case I’ve got a cut or a scratch, this’ll mean it’s less likely to go bad? I don’t understand it, to be honest, sounds a little like magic or nonsense, but I don’t get sick, so that must be somethin’?”

 

“Must be,” Nicole replies, hissing a little when she dips her hands in the steaming hot water, freezing for a second at the word _magic_.

 

“She’s a clever girl, though, so there must be some sense to it,” Mattie shrugs, looking to Nicole for a moment before pouring two measures of whiskey and handing one to Nicole.

 

“Thank you,” Nicole says gratefully, waiting for Mattie to lift the glass to her lips and drink the liquid down in one sip, before doing the same.

 

“To peace,” Mattie offers to no one and everything around them at the same time, closing her eyes for a moment.

 

“To peace,” Nicole repeats, closing her eyes, too, savouring the feeling as the liquid slides down her throat.

 

The whiskey burns a neat path as it moves down. Nicole feels it make its way into her chest, finding her heart and settling against it, warming, _comforting_ , and she closes her eyes for a moment, chasing the world from her mind, allowing Waverly to fill it instead.

 

And the world retreats in her presence, recognising her importance to Nicole’s thoughts, bowing, carving a space for her, and for a beautiful, gentle moment, Nicole _forgets_.

  


-


	15. fifteen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> So we're back to Waverly's POV for this chapter, and the next. There were a few key events that I wanted to be able to tell from her POV before we switch back to Nicole (and Waverly is not-so-secretly my favourite character to write so any excuse to dip back into her head, I'll take). 
> 
> Once you get to the end of this chapter this request will make sense, but once you've read it please keep in mind that the ending of this chapter is extremely purposeful, and I'll ask everyone to pretty please respect that. Be patient, and nice things might come your way.
> 
> Thanks as always to @iamthegaysmurf for being an Earp-tionary and an amazing beta. You da bomb.

**WAVERLY'S POV**

 

-

  
  


“One more, Doc. I  _ promise _ this is the last,” Waverly says sweetly, handing Doc another little phial with a smile. 

 

He eyes this one as suspiciously as he had the previous, frowning and grumbling something incoherent, before drinking it down, too. 

 

“Waverly, my dear,” Doc says slowly, blinking a few times, as if trying to focus his eyes as he looks to her. “I fear I might  _ become _ an herb if you’re not careful.”

 

“I promise this is the last,” Waverly says with a smile, watching Doc carefully. “Any more... any more, and I think the effects’ll start to become a little tainted. This should be weak, but hopefully you’ll feel something in a moment.”

 

“And  _ what _ , darlin’, should I be feelin’?” Doc asks, raising his eyebrow in question, before he blinks a few more times, and Waverly smiles before bending to write in her small notebook. 

 

“Well, I’m not sure exactly,” Waverly answers, chewing on the end of her pencil before looking back up to Doc. “I’ve never managed to dry this plant satisfactorily before, so I’m not certain how strong it’ll be, or if there’ll be any strength to it at all, but I think your inability to focus is a good sign that there is. Do you feel anythin’ else?”

 

“Yes,” Doc grouses, eyeing Waverly carefully, even through what Waverly suspects will be slightly blurry vision. “I feel as though someone’s unstitchin’ me at the seams.”

 

“Good,” Waverly says in reply, scribbling something down before frowning. “It might be stronger than I thought, but it’s good to know it will produce some effect.”

 

“Some effect seems to be gettin’ a little heavier here,” Doc mumbles, and Waverly watches him sway before reaching over the counter to grab his arm and take his pulse, which hammers beneath her fingers. 

 

“Here,” she says quickly, reaching for another small bottle, tipping a few drops into a glass before adding a dash of the tea she had made them earlier and handing it to Doc. 

 

“What’s this, now?” Doc asks warily, slurring his words a little, and Waverly makes a note of that, too. 

 

“Somethin’ that should stop the unstitchin’,” Waverly replies with a smile, watching Doc drink the liquid eagerly. “Better?”

 

“Yes,” Doc says after a moment or so, shaking his head to clear the fog, before looking to Waverly. “What in the sweet hell was that?” 

 

“Somethin’ to help with severe pain,” Waverly explains, pleased with the little experiment, writing a note on how quickly the tonic seems to still the effects of the opiate mixture she had given Doc. “But I’m worried it might not be overly helpful, if I can cut across the effects so quickly.”

 

“It’s certainly a nice feelin’,” Doc says between sips of his tea. “Euphoric, I would say even.”

 

“That’s the poppy in it,” Waverly replies with a smile, watching as Doc nods in understanding. “Euphoria is a rather pleasant side-effect of most opiates. Shame about the nausea, though.”

 

“What?” Doc deadpans, looking to Waverly with a slightly terrified expression on his face, but she waves it away with a smile. 

 

“Don’t worry, there’s somethin’ in the tea to counteract that,” Waverly reassures him, reaching over the counter to take his hand. “Thanks for helpin’ Doc, truly. I can test most of this on myself, but the constitution of a small female is a little different to an average male, and it’s important I know how much is safe to provide to each.”

 

“I wish I had half the brain you had in that head of yours,” Chrissy muses on the high seat next to Doc, resting her chin in her hands. 

 

“You  _ do _ have half the brain I have,” Waverly says sternly, narrowing her eyes at Chrissy and her self-doubt. “More than, in fact. And I will not hear a word to the contrary.”

 

“I can remember laws and rules, but that’s nothin’ like this, Wave. You know this like it’s an extension of yourself,” Chrissy says with slightly wondrous eyes. 

 

“I think that’s because it  _ is _ ,” Waverly explains simply, and there’s more than a little truth to that statement. Because Waverly feels like all of this, every tonic and elixir, every tea and tisane, comes from  _ within _ her somehow, or she feels like she is a part of the earth from which they come. 

 

It comes as easy as breathing now, the recollection of which herbs are used for what, and in what quantities they should be administered. What is safe and what is dangerous,  _ everything _ , feels like it’s locked within a vault in her chest. 

 

“I think perhaps it is, too,” Doc says thoughtfully, looking on to Waverly fondly. “I wouldn’t be overly surprised if you appeared one mornin’ with a vine growin’ around your arm like a tamed pet, my dear.”

 

“Wouldn’t that be a sight,” Chrissy offers wistfully, smiling at Waverly. 

 

“I think I’d be touted as a witch before I could enjoy it,” Waverly laughs a little dryly before making one final note on the concoction she had just given Doc. 

 

It’s been a rather enjoyable day, all things considered, Waverly muses as she clears away the clippings on the counter in front of her, watching Chrissy and Doc engage in their own conversation while she tidies things away. Doc and Chrissy have kept her company for the morning, Doc bravely - or stupidly - submitting himself to drink and try anything and everything Waverly had given him, with Chrissy providing amusing commentary as they had gone on. 

 

And it’s been great, wonderful even, but Waverly’s mind has been almost completely elsewhere from the minute she had woken up to right now, overtaken with the thought of one person, and one person only. 

 

There are a great number of things pertaining to Nicole fighting for prime position in her head presently, but the first and foremost relates to their evening before. She could have killed Wynonna for interrupting them last night, because they’ve been so close to kissing so many times now, and Waverly thought they had finally found a small, quiet space where nothing in conflict to their desire could find them. 

 

But she’d been wrong. 

 

Nicole had leaned in, and her hand had been warm on Waverly’s cheek, and she could almost taste the sweet smell of Nicole’s lips on her tongue, but then it had been gone, as quickly as Nicole herself had come into Waverly’s life. 

 

It had been a relief, finally, to know with a certainty what Nicole had wanted after spending the last few days in conflict within her own head as to where Nicole’s heart did lie, particularly given her understandably distracted mind with everything that was going on in the background. For an instant, Waverly  _ had  _ known. She’d known what Nicole wanted, that Nicole had wanted  _ her _ , but now she’s not so sure. 

 

And it’s not because she had gently turned away from Waverly’s advances after Wynonna had arrived. She knows that was the right thing to do, she’d just been so momentarily set on that course of action, on declaring her intentions for Nicole once and finally to eliminate any doubt, it’s the rest of the evening she’s a little confused about. Because they’d had an hour or so to themselves once they’d begun their journey home back into town, they’d had an almost perfectly presented moment before Nicole had said her final goodnight, but still she hadn’t made any further advances. She still hadn’t moved in for another kiss. 

 

Waverly has been trying to tell herself for the last twelve hours that it hadn’t meant anything, that Nicole had been tired and she’d seen Waverly’s own exhaustion, and hadn’t wanted to appear to force any affection Waverly might not have felt comfortable with in that state, but it doesn’t do much to dissuade the dull ache in her heart. 

 

Because it feels like the organ is strained, like the muscles in her arms and back when she lifts something too heavy or exerts herself too greatly helping Wynonna on the homestead. It feels sore, and maybe a little torn, too. Because she thought she had given Nicole a piece of it on the ride there and back last night - diffused through the wall of her chest like the warmth Nicole’s body had readily given her - but perhaps she’d spilled it on the floor instead. 

 

So she feels off-balance today, because she feels like a part of her is missing, maybe in Nicole’s hands or maybe not, but she hopes it  _ is _ warm and safe there, not for her sake only, but because this morning, she thinks Nicole had needed it. 

 

And she doesn’t know for sure, but she imagines that death is not a foreign prospect to Nicole, and grief not an unfamiliar emotion, but there’s something different to the dark things happening in the earth around and beneath them here at present, and it’s bringing a kind of despair to them all, but Waverly thinks it’s bearing down on Nicole harder than most. Because Waverly sees the way she cares, she can  _ feel _ it almost, and she sees the way Nicole invests herself so completely in her work and in helping others, and how that devotion appears to be paid back with a deeper sense of burden, especially now. 

 

She wishes she could do something, wishes she could take some of that load off, and help Nicole with her weight, but she can’t do that unless Nicole leans on her. And she thinks that they could be there, that they might be so tantalisingly close to that intimacy, if Nicole doesn’t pull away. If Waverly doesn’t give her a reason to. 

 

Waverly wishes they were there with them; Nicole and Wynonna. She wishes she could help, even if it’s only to offer comfort or hope, something small, and she knows why she’s here instead of there, that Waverly, as much as she may hate it, simply isn’t as physically capable as they are. Mentally? Yes. Logically and intellectually? Perhaps even more so. But not where it counts in  _ this _ instance. It had drawn her heart taut to watch them go this morning, to watch her sister and her - her what? her companion? her  _ partner _ ? - leave to see to the worst task Waverly could imagine, knowing that there was nothing she could do to help. 

 

_ That’s not true, _ she says to herself,  _ you can be here when they return. You can be everything they need when they return. _

 

And it must be some kind of happenstance or serendipity then, a soul drawn to her by her thoughts, because that piece of consciousness has barely left her mind when one of the aforementioned parties walks right through the door. 

 

“I need a drink,” is the first thing that leaves her mouth when Wynonna walks straight to Doc’s side, leaning heavily against him. 

 

And Waverly’s waiting for a flash of red to follow Wynonna through the door, but it doesn’t come. Nicole isn’t there.

 

“Is everythin’ alright?” Waverly asks, frowning as she looks around Wynonna, in the event that Nicole is just behind her. “Where’s…”

 

Wynonna gives her a look, a quick glance that seeks her permission to speak about Nicole freely in front of Chrissy, obviously unsure about exactly how much Waverly has told her friend, but Waverly nods easily in reply, having already told Chrissy everything. 

 

“She’s fine, baby girl, don’t worry,” Wynonna says reassuringly, reaching for Waverly’s hand, but not moving from Doc’s side. “She had to stay out there with Mattie and the… She’ll be back into town in a short while, I think, although Nedley might have her head out to search when she’s back. She wanted me to make sure that you knew that she was alright, though. And that she’s thinkin’ of you.”

 

“She did?” Waverly asks a little breathlessly, her eyes filling with hope, because maybe everything  _ isn’t _ lost, maybe Nicole has been thinking of Waverly as much as Waverly has been thinking of her today. 

 

“‘Course she did, kid,” Wynonna replies, closing her eyes briefly when Doc puts his arm around her shoulder. “I think she was a bit distraught she couldn’t come back, to be honest. Not that she said anythin’, but… I could tell.”

 

Waverly can’t help but smile at her sister and Doc, thinking for what must be the seventh time today alone that she wishes so badly that Wynonna would just fight her fears and give herself over to the affection she  _ knows _ Wynonna feels for him. Because it’s beyond sweet, it’s beyond heartwarming; it’s something, in fact, that Waverly has been envious of for years, wishing and wishing that she might find someone who feels for her the way she knows Wynonna and Doc feel for each other. 

 

Physical emotion and closeness come so easily to the two of them when they have only their family around them, and it’s the ease with which they fall into this kind of intimacy that reveals the depth of their feelings to Waverly as an outsider looking in. It’s that kind of ease that she’s always wished so badly to be able to emulate with someone one day, that kind of familiarity, that kind of intimacy, and she thinks that maybe, just maybe, she may have found that with Nicole. 

 

_ Maybe _ . If they can find some small moment alone to start their journey together, or at least talk about where on earth their heads are at. 

 

“Waverly?” Wynonna’s voice cuts through her introspection, bringing her back into their world and out of her own. “You alright, baby girl?”

 

“Yeah,” she replies a little sheepishly, before lowering her voice so only Wynonna can hear her. “Sorry, just a little distracted. Is it silly to wish…”

 

“Not at all, kid,” Wynonna says quietly, giving her sister’s hand a squeeze. “Just know she’s probably wishin’ the same thing. That she was here with you, instead of there.”

 

Waverly sighs, feeling the relief flood through her veins at the suggestion, even if the words are coming from her sister and not Nicole herself, because she knows Wynonna well enough by now to know that she’d never pass on such a thing if she didn’t think it were the truth. 

 

_ She wishes she were here with me _ , Waverly says to herself, like a mantra, as her family talks in the background, their words small murmurings against the rumination of her mind. Their words grow a little louder and louder, though, until Waverly finds her consciousness back in the room and not away in the clouds, her sister looking at her like she’s waiting for the answer to her question. 

 

“Pardon?” Waverly asks quietly, to which Wynonna smiles a little knowingly before repeating herself. 

 

“I said, any chance of something with a little more punch and a little less plant life in it?” Wynonna asks with a syrupy sweetness, like she does when she wants the particularly strong liquor. 

 

“Everythin’ has plant life in it, Wynonna,” Waverly replies a little dryly, before taking a key out of her pocket, walking to the small locked cupboard a few feet away. “Even the punchier stuff. Especially then, actually.”

 

“You know what I mean,” Wynonna returns with an exhausted eye-roll before reaching for the bottle Waverly produces. 

 

”Absolutely not,” Waverly says quickly, holding the bottle out of her sister’s reach. “Remember what happened the last time I let you pour yourself a drink with this?”

 

“No, I don’t remember a thing,” Wynonna says with a shake of her head. “Which is  _ exactly _ why I want it now.”

 

“One shot of this, and then you’re gettin’ the other bottle,” Waverly says firmly, watching her sister deflate considerably, before turning to Doc and Chrissy. “Can I offer you both a drink, too?”

 

“I’ll admit I’ve been more than a little curious since the aforementioned incident as to how strong the liquor really is,” Doc says with a wry smile. “I’d very much like to sample it, if there’s enough to spare?”

 

“Of course,” Waverly affirms, smiling widely at Doc, taking two glasses off the shelf behind her before turning to Chrissy. “Chris? You?”

 

“I don’t know,” Chrissy says a little warily, obviously weighing up Wynonna’s review of the strength of the liquor cautiously. “Do you think I’ll be…”

 

“You’ll be fine,” Waverly says kindly, smiling at her friend. “I've seen you hold your father’s liquor. You’ll be more than alright with this. But you certainly don’t have to.”

 

“I’d like to,” Chrissy replies, beaming at Waverly’s compliment, nodding with a little less reservation. “If that’s alright?” 

 

“Of course,” Waverly says easily, nodding before turning for two more glasses, pouring an equal measure in all of them and sliding a glass to each person. 

 

She takes her own glass in her hand as Wynonna, Doc, and Chrissy do the same, lifting it as Doc speaks. 

 

“To peace,” Doc says with a smooth tone that fills Waverly with calm, like it always has, before they all raise their glasses to their lips, tip their heads back, and drink deeply. 

 

Doc and Chrissy cough a little at its strength, while Wynonna winks to her in recognition of their constitution, neither of them making a sound, savouring the soft burn the liquor leaves in its wake down their throats. And it’s odd, but she can’t help but notice a lingering feeling of Nicole’s shadow over her body, drinking in exactly the same motion as she sets her glass to the counter. 

 

“Everythin’ alright, baby girl?” Wynonna asks, watching Waverly carefully. 

 

“Fine,” Waverly replies a little distractedly, welcoming the warm feeling of Nicole over her heart, rather than shaking the spectre off. “I’m fine.”

 

“Well, so am I,” Doc says roughly, setting his glass down. “That’s one fine drink you’ve got there, Miss Earp. That one of your own?”

 

“Sure is,” Waverly answers proudly, smiling at Doc’s praise. “It’s been aged, that’s why it’s a little stronger than usual.”

 

“I’m surprised you can keep anythin’ around here for that long with this hound sniffin’ out the quality liquor,” Doc says playfully, looking pointedly at Wynonna, and it’s a relief to Waverly’s soul to be able to smile on a day like today.

 

“I resent that,” Wynonna grouses, pinching Doc in the side before he can grab her hand and stop her. 

 

“It’s so tasty, even around the strength of it,” Chrissy offers, licking her lips, prompting Waverly to do the same, tasting the sweetness lingering there. 

 

“Sugar,” Waverly says with a wink. “Lots of sugar.”

 

“Always knew you were sweet, Waverly Earp,” comes a voice from the door that makes Waverly’s skin crawl, and she doesn’t need to turn to know who it is that’s darkened their small party. 

 

“You’ve got a  _ lot _ of nerve showin’ up here, Champ Hardy,” Chrissy says first, and in the space of about two seconds, Doc, Chrissy, and her sister have filled the distance between Champ and Waverly as a human barrier, while Oakley climbs out of her bed, growling low and dangerous. 

 

“I’m just payin’ a kindly visit,” Champ says innocently, like the strength of his grip over Waverly’s forearm isn’t still healing in blooms of green and yellow. “That ain’t illegal, is it, Miss Nedley?”

 

“I’d like to show you a good many things that  _ are _ illegal, boy,” Doc growls, drawing himself to his fullest height, resting the heel of his palm on the gun at his hip. 

 

“Woah, now,” Champ says, raising his palms in a gesture of mock-apology. “I just wanted to call by and see whether Miss Earp - the innocent one - has reconsidered my kind offer for a second date.”

 

“You’ve gotta be  _ jokin _ ’ me,” Wynonna snaps, shaking her head, moving to place herself in Champ’s personal space. “You’ve got the stones to come in here lookin’ for a date after you manhandle my sister? No way, asshole. Get out. Now.”

 

“Last time I checked, I didn’t answer to you. You ain’t your long-dead daddy. You don’t wear a badge. I can do whatever the hell I want,” Champ replies with a distinct tone of cockiness, and Waverly can see the three of them get angrier at his attitude. 

 

“Like this?” Chrissy asks, reaching back to hold Waverly’s mottled forearm up, and it makes Waverly feel a little sick that he doesn’t even  _ flinch _ at seeing the mark he’s left. “Like hurtin’ a woman?”

 

“I barely touched her,” Champ says nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders. “Not my fault she bruises easily. She needs to be more careful she doesn’t provoke me.”

 

“I wonder if you’ll say the same after you walk outta here with a black eye,” Wynonna spits, and Waverly watches in concern as her sister takes a step closer, almost chest to chest with him now. 

 

“Where’s the deputy?” he says derisively, completely ignoring Wynonna’s comment, looking around instead for Nicole’s presence, smiling when he doesn’t find her. “You at least had the good sense to send her away, huh?  _ Good _ . Glad you came to your senses, Waverly. There’s hope for you yet. All you need now is for me to show you what a man’s  _ really _ like.”

 

“That’s enough,” Wynonna seethes, and Waverly can see her body shake with the effort to hold herself back. 

 

There’s something about his distinct and lingering pleasure at Nicole’s absence that gets so thoroughly under Waverly’s skin, and it must do something similar to Wynonna, because she takes another minuscule, but threatening, step closer to him. 

 

“He’s not worth it, Wynonna,” Waverly says, trying to school her voice into a sense of calmness she definitely doesn’t feel, at the same time that Doc reaches for Wynonna’s arm. 

 

“Your sister’s right,” Doc offers calmly, and Waverly can see her visibly relax at his touch, before Champ speaks again and blows Wynonna’s tolerance to indiscernible pieces. 

 

“Glad  _ one _ of you Earps listens when a man tries to put you back in your place,” Champ says with a mocking smile, before a number of things happen very quickly. 

 

Waverly sighs the second his words leave his mouth, because she knows her sister will never step down from a slight like that without doing  _ something _ . As if in slow motion, Waverly watches Wynonna glance to Doc, holding some nonverbal conversation before he nods knowingly, releasing his gentle grip on her arm. She turns her body like a dancer in the second that follows, collecting momentum and driving forward with her fist as hard as she can. 

 

Wynonna’s fist meets the middle of Champ’s face with a wet  _ crack _ , and he drops like a stone across the doorway, clutching at his nose when his senses come to him. Her sister moves backwards from his limp body, shaking the blow from her knuckles before turning back to Champ, still on the floor. 

 

“Come back again, Hardy, and I’ll aim the next one a damn sight lower,” Wynonna says, sounding more than a little pleased with herself while Doc moves forward to grab him by the shoulders, picking him up and throwing him out onto the dirt of the Main Street. 

 

Waverly’s pleasure and distinct satisfaction is short-lived, however, because the second he hits the ground in a small cloud of dust, one of Nedley’s deputies walks into their line of sight. All four of them blanch and fall completely still, balanced on a knife's edge with worry of the coming reprimand, but the deputy doesn’t even stop. 

 

“As you were,” he says, nodding at Doc before stepping over Champ’s writhing form, winking at Waverly and continuing on down the street. 

 

“Well, I’ll be,” Doc says with a laugh, looking to Waverly in delight before bending down low to Champ. “You hear that, boy? The law ain’t on your side after all. You’d best remember that, I think, before you walk in here with that attitude threatening one of our own again.”

 

She’s expecting something, some threat or a  _ you’ll regret this,  _ but Champ doesn’t say anything in reply, just glaring at Doc before extending the glance to Wynonna and Waverly both, dragging himself up and stomping away, which Waverly presumes is threat enough. He’s barely off down the street when another familiar face walks through the door, looking highly amused. 

 

“I don’t think I want to know what that was about, do I?” Gus asks, unsuccessfully trying to smother the smirk on her face, before looking to Wynonna. “You’ll want to put somethin’ on those knuckles, girl.”

 

“Here,” Waverly says, returning from the other end of the shop with a wet cloth soaked in a few soothing herbs she had been planning to use for one of her tests with Doc. “Put this over your hand. It’ll bring down the swelling, and the bruisin’, too, with any luck. And no, Gus, probably not.”

 

Wynonna takes the wet cloth gratefully, winking at her before sighing at the relief it brings immediately. 

 

“You break it, do you reckon?” Gus asks Wynonna quietly, leaning in and speaking low into her ear, loud enough still for all three of the others to hear. 

 

“Nah,” Wynonna says regretfully, shaking her head. “Not enough blood. It’ll give him a black eye, though. Two, if I’m lucky.”

 

“That’s my girl,” Gus growls proudly, patting Wynonna on the back, before turning to face them all. “You lot got anythin’ planned for the evenin’? Thought I’d make us all an early supper if you’re interested? Curtis wants to set eyes on all of you to make sure you’re alright. You, too, Miss Nedley. Your daddy knows we’re havin’ you with us, don’t you worry.”

 

“Thought you’d never ask,” Wynonna says, unable to say yes fast enough, before looking to Doc. “You don’t mind hangin’ in town a little longer do you?”

 

“To share your aunt’s company? Of course not,” Doc says smoothly, throwing Gus a smile before sharing it with Wynonna, too. 

 

“Your flattery won’t get you nowhere, Holliday,” Gus growls, although Waverly knows it’s completely for show, more than aware of Gus’s fondness for him. “It’s a show, really. All I want is that pup. Where is she?” 

 

Without even the mention of her name, Oakley’s ears perk upward from her position sitting at Waverly’s feet, her hackles still a little bristly from her interaction with Champ. Gus bends down to see her, and Oakley peers up, as if asking Waverly for permission to leave her for a moment, which she nods to immediately, smiling when the pup’s tail sets off and she wriggles her little body towards Gus. 

 

“When do you want us over there?” Waverly asks, watching her aunt interact with Oakley. “Would you like a hand cookin’?”

 

“If you want?” Gus answers, looking up to Waverly briefly before turning her attention back to the puppy. “Ain’t got nothin’ else to do, may as well have you lot over now, if you’d like? Wynonna, there might be some fresh bakin’ left if you’re quick.”

 

“Mine,” is all she manages to say before she takes off across the road in search of the sweet prize waiting for her. 

 

“Christ, that girl’s day is ruled by her stomach, I tell you,” Gus says, shaking her head as she stands with Oakley in her arms. “You all want to join her?”

 

“Sounds like a dream,” Doc says smoothly, before turning to Waverly. “I’ll give you a hand to lock up if you’d like, Miss Waverly? If the others want to go on ahead.”

 

“I’ve got your shadow,” Gus throws over her shoulder, already halfway out the door with Oakley in her arms, ushering Chrissy to follow her. 

 

Waverly can only laugh in light exasperation before glancing to Doc with a smile. “Families are somethin’, aren’t they?” 

 

“That they are, young lady,” Doc nods in agreement, looking between Waverly and Wynonna until she disappears into the Inn ahead of Gus and Chrissy. “And a mighty fine one you have, at that.”

 

“That  _ we _ have,” Waverly corrects him, leaning into his side once she ducks beneath the counter. “We’re your family, as much as they’re mine, Doc.”

 

“And what a lucky man I am for that,” Doc beams, his eyes bright and the edges of his moustache turned up in pleasure. “Now, is there anythin’ you require upstairs before we leave?” 

 

“Not that I can think of,” Waverly answers, shaking her head as she thinks. “But you can bring me back over if I do?” 

 

“I certainly can, young lady,” Doc says, holding back for Waverly to walk ahead of him through the door, waiting while she locks the door on the other side. 

 

He smiles brightly before offering Waverly his arm, which she gladly accepts, and they make their way across the street. 

 

“She’s alright, isn’t she?” Waverly asks Doc before they walk into the Inn, not bothering to actually say Nicole’s name, knowing that he’ll recognise exactly who she’s talking about. “There’s not another reason why she hasn’t come back into town?”

 

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Deputy Haught in the short time I’ve known her, it’s that she can handle herself, Waverly. She’ll be fine,” Doc assures her, patting her hand where it rests in the crook of his elbow before turning back to her. “And if there’s two things I’ve learned, it’s that she would be by your side if there was any way she could be. Don’t worry, she’ll come back to you.” 

 

“Like Wynonna comes back to you?” Waverly asks, looking to him hopefully. 

 

“Just like Wynonna comes back to me,” he affirms with a wink. “Only, I think Miss Haught is more than open with her fondness for you. Which, I’m sure she’ll express when she sees you again. Nothin’ makes the heart ache for its other half like tragedy, am I right?” 

 

“Yes,” Waverly agrees solemnly, nodding and pressing the flat of her palm against her chest, as if that will ease the ache caused by Nicole’s absence and the events of the last few days. “You’re right.”

 

“Try not to worry your mind for now, darlin’, she’ll be back with you in no time at all, alright?” Doc says reassuringly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “For now, let's see if we can place a wager on just how much that sister of yours has managed to consume before we even make inside, shall we?”

  
  


-

  
  


“I couldn’t eat another  _ bite _ ,” Wynonna says dramatically, pausing for exactly four seconds before reaching for one last mouthful of bread. 

 

Waverly can’t exactly disagree, although she feels to have barely eaten anything herself, her stomach a little uneasy with worry for Nicole, because it’s been two hours at least since they all came across the road, and there still hasn’t been any sign of her. 

 

“That’s a bottomless pit you’ve got there, girl,” Gus says, bringing Waverly out of her thoughts, eyeing Wynonna with a look of mild concern when she takes another roll from the table. 

 

“It’s good for me,” Wynonna mumbles, speaking with a mouthful, before Gus scowls and she swallows heavily. “Look at me, Gus, I’m a waif. I need to be fed.”

 

“Well, maybe if you came into town more, I’d be able to,” Gus throws back with a pointed look, and Waverly smiles in acknowledgment of Gus’s victory. 

 

“I’m still here, aren’t I?” Wynonna says after a moment, looking to Waverly like her sister will surely back her up. “And it’s almost nightfall.”

 

“Yes, but only due to circumstance and necessity,” Gus growls in return, before turning to Waverly. “You, on the other hand, the  _ real _ waif, I think that dog at your feet has eaten more in scraps than you have tonight.”

 

“I’m sorry, Gus,” Waverly says apologetically to Gus with a frown on her brow. “It’s delicious, I’m just…”

 

“We know, baby girl,” Wynonna says, reaching out to squeeze Waverly’s hand. “But she’ll be here before long. Doc and I might offer our services to the Sheriff after we’ve seen you and Chrissy home safe, so I’ll be sure to pass on a message for her, if we don’t see her ourselves.”

 

“And…” Waverly begins, wringing her hands together after Wynonna drops the one she was holding. 

 

“And if there’s anythin’ to tell you, I’ll be banging down your door as fast as I can get back down here, baby girl, don’t worry,” Wynonna reassures her. “But she’ll be fine. You know her, she’ll just be out workin’ herself to the bone.”

 

“I hope that’s all it is,” Waverly says under her breath, and the evening has been truly lovely, the company incredible, but she just hasn’t been able to shake the feeling of a shadow on the horizon at the absence of Nicole’s presence. 

 

“If you two are goin’ to offer the Sheriff aid, I don’t want you to let her out of your sight, Holliday,” Gus says sternly to Doc. “You hear me?”

 

“Of course, Gus,” Doc replies seriously, nodding at Gus as she fixes him with her most threatening look. “And I swear, too, that I would never protect Wynonna with anythin’ less than my own life.”

 

“I know, Doc, I don’t mean to sound like a cantankerous old woman, just… look after each other, will you?” Gus says, a little softer this time, reaching to take Wynonna's hand in her own. “I know you can handle yourself, but for the love of God, if you insist on goin’ out, be  _ careful _ .”

 

“We will,” Wynonna promises, in a voice as serious as Waverly has ever heard it. “I promise. Can’t leave you to look after this troublemaker all by yourself, can I?” 

 

“I am hardly the troublemaker,” Waverly says to her sister dryly. “Shall I give you a list of the reasons I’m most definitely not? Or do you have them committed to memory already?”

 

Wynonna doesn’t answer, she just glares playfully and Waverly smiles in reply. And it’s nice, it’s lovely and it’s  _ home _ , but Waverly can’t shake the feeling that there’s something missing. 

 

Nicole.  _ Nicole _ is missing. 

 

Nicole isn’t here, she’s  _ still _ not here, and Waverly’s starting to feel doubt creep in again. Maybe she’s not here because she’s still out searching, but maybe it’s because she’s trying to avoid Waverly, because she doesn’t  _ want _ to see her. Because Nicole has always made time for Waverly, she’s come to her when Waverly knows she hasn’t had time, but she’s not here now. And Waverly knows, too, that Nedley wouldn’t have let Nicole go on this long without a break, not with how hard she will have been working. Which means she’s had time to come and see Waverly, but she  _ hasn’t _ . 

 

There’s another option, of course, another reason why Nicole hasn’t come yet, but Waverly refuses to acknowledge that one, because she would know if something had happened to Nicole. She’d  _ know _ . She’d  _ feel _ it. Even though they’ve barely known each other a week, Waverly knows she would feel it. Because actually, when she puts her heart to thinking about it, it doesn’t feel like they’ve known each other a week, it feels like they’ve known each other for so much longer. 

 

Which, Waverly thinks at least, is why it hurts so much that Nicole isn’t here, because it feels like she should be. Like she belongs here, with the rest of her family. 

 

“Speakin’ of which, we should probably get goin’ if we’re gonna be any use to your daddy, Chrissy,” Wynonna says, bringing Waverly back into herself again. 

 

“I’m sure he’ll be about set to start worryin’ about you, too,” Doc says kindly, to which Chrissy shakes her head, smiling. 

 

“He won’t be worried, not knowin’ I’m with you and Wynonna, Doc,” Chrissy says simply, as if it’s the easiest thing for her father to put such trust in them. “I think I’m sittin’ in a room with the only people my father knows he can trust in this town, besides Nicole, too. I’ve never seen my father warm to someone so quickly, as far back as I can remember. He might not say it enough, but he thinks the world of you all.”

 

“And we think the world of him, too,” Gus says a little gruffly. “He’s the best Sheriff this town’s ever seen, includin’ your father, girls. He’s kept this town calmer than I’ve ever seen it in my life.” 

 

“Which is why we’re gonna help him catch this monster,” Wynonna says firmly, and Waverly can see how much Chrissy’s effortless compliment has truly touched her sister. 

 

“Indeed,” Doc nods seriously, before softening his expression and turning to Gus. “This was a truly extraordinary evenin’, Gus. Thank you kindly for havin’ us all.”

 

“Don’t thank me, Waverly did most of the cookin’. I just let her order me around,” Gus replies, winking at Waverly, and she can’t help but glow at Gus’s recognition. 

 

“You've gotta come and cook for us out at the homestead, baby girl,” Wynonna says playfully enough, but Waverly knows there’s a more serious plea embedded in there, too. “Especially now you’ve got your own deputy to keep you safe.”

 

_ If she still wants that,  _ Waverly thinks _ , if she still wants me.  _

 

“Speakin’ of which, I hope Nedley’s not workin’ the girl too hard,” Gus says with a frown. “She’ll run herself into the ground before she stops unless someone tells her to.”

 

“If she’s still out when we get there, I’ll make sure Nedley tells her to come home,” Wynonna offers, looking to both Gus and Waverly. “You two ready to go for now, though?”

 

“You don’t need a hand cleanin’ up?” Waverly asks, turning to her aunt, pleading with some distant hope that if she lingers a little longer at the Inn, she’ll see Nicole before she retires for the evening.

 

“Absolutely not,” Gus says, shaking her head before looking down to Oakley curled up in her lap. “You just take this little sweetheart home and get some rest.”

 

“Thought I was your sweetheart,” Waverly laments with a small smile, to which Gus laughs gently. 

 

“Only until somethin’ softer and cuter takes your place,” Gus replies, before putting her arm around Waverly’s shoulders, pulling her close. 

 

“Thank you for dinner, Gus,” Chrissy says softly as she stands with Wynonna and Doc. “I love Daddy, but it’s nice to sit with a slightly bigger family every now and then.”

 

“Girl, you’re as much a part of this family as I am,” Gus says, fixing Chrissy with a look, and Chrissy softens beautifully in response. “Both you and your father are welcome here anytime, you know that. He’s much better than this devil who eats me half out of supplies.”

 

“I do not,” Wynonna grouses, rolling her eyes before turning to Waverly, pulling her up and out of Gus’s embrace. “Come on, kid. Let’s get you all shut in safe before this aunt of ours scolds me one more time.”

 

“Thank you,” Waverly says, moving into Gus’s arms one last time when her aunt stands. “Lettin’ me free in your kitchen twice in two days, huh? You’re settin’ a precedent.”

 

“I am  _ not _ ,” Gus corrects her with a scowl that softens the second Waverly puts her arms around Gus properly before dropping her voice. “Get some sleep, Waverly. You can see her in the mornin’.” 

 

Waverly nods, her throat slightly thick as she does so, before bidding her aunt one final goodbye, scooping a sleeping Oakley up in her arms and following Doc, Chrissy, and Wynonna out the door. 

 

The sky is darkening outside when they make their way across the street, and Waverly can see both her sister and Doc throw quick glances around the area, checking silently for anything out of place or alarming, before glancing at each other and nodding. Waverly does her own check, not so much looking for danger, but rather looking for any sign of Nicole, perhaps walking slowly, her feet dragging a little in exhaustion from her day, but heading here, towards Waverly. 

 

There’s nothing, though. The Main Street is empty and silent, as it should be with the Sheriff’s curfew in place, but it leaves an eerie stillness in its wake; an  _ unsettling _ stillness. A stillness that doesn’t feel wholly empty, and not in a reassuring way. 

 

“Waverly,” Wynonna says suddenly, and Waverly starts, realising she must have stopped in the middle of the street, completely oblivious until her sister’s voice had broken through to her. 

 

“Is everythin’ alright?” Doc asks, a few feet ahead of them, with a slightly frightened looking Chrissy on his arm. 

 

“Yes,” she replies slowly, looking around once more, almost expecting to see something slithering out of the darkness, almost able to feel its breath on her neck…

 

“Baby girl,” Wynonna says again, firmer this time, looking at Waverly with a worried frown. “You sure everythin’s alright? You don’t have to stay at the shop, you know. I’m sure Gus and Curtis would be far happier with you under their roof, if that’s what you’d prefer?”

 

“No,” Waverly returns, shaking her head and feeling the shadows retreat a little, trying to give her sister a reassuring look in reply. “No, I’ll be fine, I promise.” 

 

Oakley’s alert in her arms now, too, looking around the street like Waverly had a moment ago, sniffing the air as if trying to discern a scent, but she doesn’t make a noise, she doesn’t bark, so Waverly breathes a little easier at the lack of a reaction from the pup, following her sister across the road. 

 

Wynonna retrieves the key out of Waverly’s pocket for her, unlocking the door when they reach it before standing aside for Doc to walk into the shop first, ahead of them. He does a quick sweep of the ground floor, checking behind the counters before waving the others in and heading up the stairs, taking them two at a time with such a patterned familiarity that Waverly can’t help but feel more at ease. She can hear him moving around the space above them, walking in such a way that tells Waverly he’s lighting the lamps around the room for her, so she doesn’t have darkness to greet upstairs, before appearing at the top of the steps with a smile on his face. 

 

“All clear,” he says with a reassuring grin on his face, and Waverly feels the darkness around her chest recede further. “Are you plannin’ on bein’ down here long?” he asks, gesturing to the lamps on the ground floor. “Shall I light these, too?”

 

“No,” Waverly replies, shaking her head. “I’ll just clean a little and set things to order, take Oakley outside, and then retire upstairs, don’t bother.”

 

“How about one,” he says paternally, before walking to light the nearest lamp to the bottom of the stairs, enough to give Waverly light to work by, but not necessarily enough to be seen by anyone outside the shop unless they knew to look for it. “I’ll feel better knowin’ I’m not leavin’ you in the dark. And why don’t you take that pup of yours out while we’re all here with you, so you’re not standin’ in the pitch black, huh?”

 

“Oh,” Waverly says, suddenly processing the fact that it may not actually be safe for her to take Oakley outside at night anymore, thankful for Doc’s thoughtfulness. “If you wouldn’t mind waitin’ for a short while, I could take her out now quickly?” 

 

“Of course not,” Doc smiles gently, following Waverly out the back door, waiting for Oakley to relieve herself while Wynonna and Chrissy chat amicably at the front door, before the two of them walk back inside, and Doc bolts the hidden door behind them. 

 

“Thanks, Doc,” Waverly says, setting Oakley on the floor to do her own search so she’s free to walk into Doc’s farewell embrace. 

 

“Anytime, baby girl,” he says quietly, kissing her gently on the cheek when he pulls away, and Waverly  _ glows _ , because he’s so careful with the use of Wynonna’s term of endearment for her, only using it when he seemingly knows she needs the extra affection. 

 

“You sure you’re gonna be alright here?” Wynonna asks, moving away from Chrissy to hug her, too. 

 

“Just fine,” Waverly says, looking to her sister with as sure a smile as she can manage. “If I need anythin’ I’ll open the window upstairs and yell till my throat hurts, just like you taught me.”

 

“That’s my girl,” Wynonna replies, giving her one last squeeze before Chrissy moves in to embrace her, as well. 

 

“I’ve had the loveliest day, Wave, in spite of everythin’,” Chrissy says with a sigh when she settles against Waverly, her arms tight across Waverly’s shoulders. “Thanks for makin’ me feel like part of the family.”

 

“Any time, Chris,” Waverly says, holding her friend just a little longer. “You’re part of the family, after all.”

 

Chrissy beams when she pulls away, stepping back before Wynonna drapes her arm around Chrissy’s shoulders as they make their way to the door. 

 

“Come on, Miss Nedley, let’s get you back to your father,” Wynonna says with a final smirk back to Waverly. “I’m just itchin’ for a fight after Hardy this afternoon. Lord, I hope he sends us straight out and gives me somethin’ to hit.”

 

Doc gives her hand a glancing touch as he walks past to follow Wynonna, all three of them waiting outside the door while she locks and secures the bolt, waving their goodbye before making their way down towards the jail. 

 

Leaving Waverly alone, in the silent darkness. 

 

As if on queue, Waverly feels a small wet nose graze the space just above her boot, and she looks down with a smile. 

 

“Mind my manners, I’m not alone at all, am I girl?” Waverly says to Oakley, speaking her thought out loud, bending down to scratch behind Oakley’s ears, laughing when she promptly rolls onto her back with her legs in the air. 

 

She pats Oakley’s belly for a moment before standing up, stretching her arms up above her head, sighing in relief when she feels her spine lengthen and  _ crack _ . 

 

“Where do you think Nicole is, huh, girl?” Waverly asks Oakley when she walks behind the counter, cleaning the remnants of her day’s experimentation with Doc away. “Do you think she’s busy, or do you think…”

 

Waverly doesn’t finish her sentence, but Oakley growls regardless, as if rejecting the idea that Nicole wouldn’t want to see them the second she could. 

 

“I hope you’re right,” Waverly says to the pup, wiping the counter with the small bucket of clean water left from the day, before picking up her journal and doing one last look of the shop. 

 

It’s interesting, she thinks to herself as she makes her way up the stairs with Oakley at her heels, she’d felt so completely unsettled outside, with this almost heavy lingering feeling of being watched, even with Doc and Wynonna at her side, but in here, with the soft aroma of her herbs and flowers around her, she feels so completely safe. 

 

The upper part of the shop is softly, but beautifully lit, and she feels a wave of affection for Doc and his thoughtfulness, the small amount of light filling her with a greater feeling of safety. She sets about getting herself ready for the sleep that she already knows is going to elude her, resolute to the idea of at least trying to find some. 

 

_ You’re only going to spend every waking second trying to reason why she isn’t here, or why she didn’t try and make it before you retired _ , Waverly tells herself.  _ You’re better to at least try and put yourself out of that misery for a short while. _

 

She divests herself of her clothes, stripping down to her undergarments and pulling on her nightshirt before walking over to the small basin and washing her face. The water is cool, pleasantly so, and she savours the kiss of it against her skin, standing and letting a few of the drops slide down the back of her neck and between her breasts, not rushing to find the cloth to dry her face, instead relishing the sensation. She reaches for it eventually, patting dry the few lingering beads of water before throwing a glance to Oakley, sitting on the bed watching her, and she’s about to turn and set the cloth down next to the basin when something behind Oakley catches her eye. 

 

It’s Nicole’s room. More specifically, that there’s a light on in Nicole’s room. 

 

And for a moment, Waverly panics. She freezes in fear that someone else could be up there, because she hadn’t seen Nicole walk past, and she thought Nicole might somehow acknowledge her passing the shop when she did, so surely it can’t be her up there. She can just see both Gus and Curtis at the front door of the Inn, obviously checking to make sure the others got away, so it can’t be them, but no one else has a right to be in Nicole’s room, except Nicole, so that means it’s someone else up there. Someone that shouldn’t be there. 

 

But then she sees a silhouette move between the light source and the window, and Waverly’s blood cools for a completely different reason, because she knows immediately that the figure is Nicole. 

 

It’s not an imposter or a stranger or someone who shouldn’t be there, it’s Nicole. 

 

Waverly breathes a massive sigh of relief, because she’s fine, Nicole’s okay, she’s  _ fine _ , but then her heart stops for a different reason, because she’s fine, she’s okay, but why hadn’t she stopped in to see Waverly on the way past? She feels dull at the realisation, she feels like the shine has come off of her skin, because Nicole hasn’t ever  _ not _ stopped in to see her. This is the first time. It’s the first time she hadn’t, and Waverly feels slightly light-headed, until something strikes her about the curve of Nicole’s shoulders, evident in her silhouette.

 

They’re curved, not upright and strong like they normally are, but not bent in exhaustion - because Waverly can recognise that in Nicole, even with as short a period of time as they’ve known each other - they’re bent in  _ defeat _ . 

 

It’s striking, and even as far away as she is, and in the near pitch-darkness between them, Waverly can see how different the posture is to that which she’s used to seeing Nicole exhibit. And then she remembers. She remembers the slightly haunted and tremendously  _ affected _ expression on Nicole’s face in the jail before they’d left for the homestead, and it all comes falling down around her. Nicole had looked devastated this morning, the last time Waverly had seen her, and that was before being confronted with the body Waverly knows she had to retrieve, and Lord knows whatever else she may have dealt with during the day. 

 

And suddenly Waverly feels awful, she feels sick for an entirely different reason, because she’s spent the entire day worrying about Nicole’s feelings for her without actually stopping to consider for one second how the occurrences of the last few days might be affecting  _ Nicole _ . Because Nicole is so strong and she’s so brave, Waverly had assumed that she had been unaffected to a great degree - perhaps distracted by the prominent happenings, but not deeply shaken - but she’s obviously wrong. 

 

_ Nicole is strong and she’s brave, but she’s human, too, _ Waverly thinks to herself. Of  _ course _ she is. And no matter how strong or how brave, things like this affect everyone. 

 

Maybe especially the people who are the closest to it, who seem the most resilient. 

 

And perhaps there’s another reason, too. Perhaps she’s also conflicted over her feelings for Waverly, but that isn’t Waverly’s biggest concern right now. What is - what’s  _ far _ more important than Waverly’s concerns about herself - is whether or not Nicole is okay. Not physically, because Waverly thinks she can tell by the way that Nicole is holding herself across the street that she’s not injured. But emotionally, and mentally, Waverly can tell there’s something wrong. 

 

And she thinks she understands why Nicole didn’t call in to see her now, because maybe she hadn’t wanted to see anyone else, maybe she had been too upset, maybe she hadn’t wanted  _ Waverly _ to see her like this, but all that does is makes Waverly’s heart hurt even more, because if Nicole had called in, she might have been able to do something, to comfort her, or to make her feel in some small way like she’s not alone. 

 

Like there’s someone here who cares for her, who worries for her. Maybe even, who  _ loves _ her. 

 

Once the realisation fully forms in her head, Waverly’s first instinct is to run across the road and draw Nicole in to her arms and tell her everything is going to be okay, but something stops her. Because Nicole had made the decision  _ not _ to seek her out, she had made the decision to retire and not look for comfort from Waverly, and she wants to respect Nicole’s decision to avoid reaching out for company. 

 

_ Unless _ . 

 

Unless she hadn’t wanted to  _ bother _ Waverly. Unless she _ had _ wanted to seek Waverly out, but for whatever reason, had chosen not to. Unless she needs Waverly, but hadn’t wanted to bother her, perhaps thinking her already settled in for the night, which she is, but that doesn’t matter. 

 

Because she would drop anything to help Nicole, she would do anything for Nicole. Anything. She would give anything. 

 

She would give  _ everything, _ if Nicole asked for it. 

 

Waverly’s of half a mind to go across and make sure she’s alright, to make sure she doesn’t need anything, to tell her it doesn’t matter what she wants - or  _ doesn’t _ want - in the long term; that for now, Waverly - as her friend - needs to make sure she’s okay. 

 

The voice in her head telling her to leave Nicole, to respect her decision to return to the Inn alone, is winning, only slightly, so Waverly sets to the last of her nighttime routines, putting a small dot of the perfume she now shares with Nicole on her wrists before taking a sip of the cool peppermint tea she had made earlier, and walking over to climb into bed. She draws back the covers and is just about to slide beneath them when she catches a movement in the silhouette that makes her stomach drop.

 

Because she thinks it looks like Nicole is crying. 

 

The decision is made in her head quicker than she can breathe, and she’s over and pulling her coat on before her brain actually strides to meet her movements. She doesn’t bother to dress properly, because she knows she won’t be gone long, just long enough to make sure Nicole is okay, and then she’ll be back, back in her bed trying not to wish she was in a bed on the other side of the road instead. 

 

Oakley watches her from the bed with what looks like confusion as she gathers her coat around her waist, remembering at the last second to slip the key she still has for Nicole’s room, for her old room that she’d never remembered to return to Gus, into her pocket. 

 

“Come on, girl,” Waverly says to Oakley, collecting the pup in her arms before making her way down the stairs. “We have to go and see Miss Nicole across the road, only quickly, and then we can come back to bed, alright?”

 

Oakley makes some sort of committal sound, relaxing in her arms, and Waverly smiles as she hits the bottom step before walking quickly over to the front door. It’s a little awkward, holding Oakley in one hand while she unbolts and unlocks the door, but it’s nothing she hasn’t done before, carrying a heavier load, too, stepping out into the cool night air after only a moment's pause. 

 

And then the air changes.  _ Immediately _ . The second she sets foot outside the safety of her shop. 

 

The sense of a deep threat closes around her almost instantaneously, Oakley begins growling in her arms, and her flight instinct tells her to go back inside directly, but it’s at war with her concern for Nicole that says,  _ go to her, she needs you, _ so she makes her decision. She can see the light of the Inn, even if there doesn’t appear to be anyone at the desk, it’s bright and warm, like a beacon, and Waverly runs towards it. She doesn’t bother to look around her, because she has her destination set in her head, and she’s determined to get there regardless of what’s waiting in the darkness. 

 

It’s only about fifty feet, but it’s enough to feel a stretch too far, and Waverly’s breath is high in her throat when her foot hits the step of the Inn, her heart hammering in her chest. Her body is  _ just _ inside the door of the Inn when she comes to a stop, but her coat is still outside, and Waverly feels the back of it ruffle, as if caught in a wind that isn’t there, or a hand has reached out to grab hold of it and  _ just _ missed, and Waverly feels her stomach swoop in fear before trying to calm herself, moving further inside. She can hear Gus and Curtis speaking softly in the kitchen, and she doesn’t want to bother them, so she takes quiet step after quiet step up the stairs instead of calling out to them, feeling Oakley still on alert against her chest as she climbs. 

 

The Inn is completely silent but for her movement, so quiet that she can hear each distinct  _ thump, thump, thump _ of her heart, a rhythm that only grows louder and louder the closer she gets to Nicole’s door. She lays her palm flat against the wood when she reaches it finally, suddenly wondering if the key wasn’t the best idea, worried that Nicole might think it a little intrusive. She doesn’t want to knock and risk alerting anyone else to her presence though, so she bites her lip and slips the key into the lock, turning it as quietly as she can, before pushing the door open. 

 

She doesn’t say anything as she does so, wanting to wait until she’s in the room, which she knows from experience is relatively soundproof with its thick walls, the only weakness at the door. 

 

_ The door sticks, _ she remembers at the last second, pushing it with her hip, causing the wood to give finally, allowing her to step into the room…

 

…and right into the sights at the end of the barrel on Nicole’s gun. 

 

“Jesus Christ,” Waverly says at the same time that Nicole asks “Waverly?” dropping the gun in haste the second she sees who it is. 

 

“What in the sweet  _ hell _ are you doing here?” Nicole asks a little breathlessly, and her eyes are a little red, Waverly presumes - her heart pulling a little painfully - from crying. 

 

Waverly clutches at her chest, still a little frozen from the sight of the gun, bending a little before Nicole helps her straighten up. She turns away for a moment once Waverly is upright again, walking a few paces, placing the gun on the desk a few steps away before turning back to Waverly. 

 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you, I just… I heard you movin’ in the hall, and when the lock turned and you didn’t say anythin’, I thought…” Nicole trails off, wiping at her cheek discreetly as if to check for any lingering tears. “What are you doin’ here?”

 

“I came to check if you were… I was worried you weren’t alright. I wanted to make sure you were…” Waverly replies quietly, already regretting her decision to come based on the look on Nicole’s face. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you though, I’ll just…”

 

“You didn’t come over here by yourself, did you?” Nicole asks, and her voice wavers, in anger or disbelief, Waverly isn’t sure, but the look on her face is softer now. 

 

“Well, not  _ alone _ ,” Waverly says a little sheepishly, shrugging and looking down to Oakley in her arms, who peers up on cue with adorably wide eyes. “You said she was meant to protect me, right?” 

 

“Well, yes, but…” Nicole replies, narrowing her eyes at Waverly’s excuse, prompting Waverly to assume a look as soft as Oakley’s in an attempt to curtail Nicole’s exasperation. “Waverly, it’s dangerous out there, you can’t just come across any time without an escort at night. You could have been…”

 

Oakley squirms a little in her arms then, fussing, so Waverly sets her on the ground to have a sniff around. They both notice her looking for a place to settle, so Nicole excuses herself for a moment, dragging one of the heavier winter blankets out of the wardrobe and onto the floor, which Oakley promptly walks to, and falls directly asleep on. 

 

It’s only then, as Nicole walks back over to her, that Waverly is able to take in Nicole’s appearance, having been so distracted before when she had walked in. 

 

Her hair is down and wavy and still a little wet, and she smells distinctly of the soap that Waverly provides to the woman who runs the baths, and she looks so  _ soft _ that it takes Waverly’s breath away. She’s wearing the soft cotton shirt and the lighter pants she had worn after her previous visit to the baths, when she’d come across the road with soft hair and a softer smile, and Waverly's overridden with this extraordinary urge to reach out and  _ touch _ her. Nicole seems to be doing the same thing with Waverly, too, taking her in, drinking in the sight of her standing in front of her, as though she can barely believe what she’s seeing. 

 

“What are you doin’ here, Waverly?” Nicole asks again, quieter this time, with something that sounds more like hope and less like worry. 

 

“I’m here for you,” Waverly says simply, shrugging again and taking another step closer to Nicole, taking a deep breath before trying to justify appearing on Nicole’s doorstep in the middle of the night. “I came for you. I was worried about you.”

 

“You were worried?” Nicole says quietly, like she can barely believe what Waverly’s saying. “You’re here for me? You were worried for me?”

 

“Of course I was worried. I’ve been worried about you all day. I couldn’t stand the idea that you might need someone, so I’m here. In the event that you do,” Waverly confirms, her breath catching as Nicole takes a step closer to her, too, and suddenly the significance of being in someone’s room - a potential lover’s room -  _ alone _ , at night, slides down the back of her neck, and settles  _ low _ . 

 

“You’re here,” Nicole says again, her eyes still moving over Waverly like she’s struggling to come to terms with the fact that she’s standing in front of Nicole. 

 

“I’m here,” Waverly replies softly, looking to Nicole with a small, hesitant smile. “But if you’re okay and you want to be alone, then I’ll go. I just I couldn’t bear the idea that you needed someone and I wasn’t there for you. Even if you don’t want me in any other way beyond that of a friend.”

 

She watches something cross Nicole’s face then, some small conflict in her head, like she’s waging a war the same way Waverly had before making the decision to come here, but then she sees something change. There’s one small movement behind Nicole’s eyes, almost as though they change colour or something  _ shifts _ , and then before Waverly can breathe, before Waverly can  _ speak _ , Nicole crosses the room, eliminating the remaining distance between them. 

 

Waverly’s expecting Nicole to stop or pause in front of her, but she doesn’t, she keeps going, she moves close into Waverly, places one hand on her hip and the other against Waverly’s jaw, and  _ kisses _ her. 

 

Nicole finally, finally,  _ finally _ kisses her. 

 

The world stops, everything stills, everything pauses, because Nicole Haught halts time with her lips and kisses her. 

 

And at first Waverly doesn’t do anything, she’s frozen in shock because she simply can’t believe this is happening, that Nicole’s lips are against hers and they’re soft, they’re  _ so _ soft, but then she feels Nicole pull away, she feels her step back, and Waverly opens her eyes, resisting the immediate urge to reach for her. 

 

Nicole draws back away from her, shaking her head with her eyes cast down, and Waverly can hear her mutter something before she looks up and meets Waverly’s eyes. 

 

“I’m so sorry, Waverly,” Nicole says hurriedly, looking to Waverly with guilt-heavy eyes. “I’m so sorry, I never should have assumed, I didn’t mean to overstep, or…”

 

She trails off, and Waverly’s heart stops with a thud, because Nicole thinks she didn’t want this, Nicole thinks she’s done the wrong thing in kissing her, when she couldn’t be more mistaken. 

 

Nicole had been brave before, in making the first move, in taking the first step, so it’s Waverly’s turn to be brave now. She takes two steps, closing the distance Nicole has opened between them, pushes up onto her tiptoes, places her hands on the line of Nicole’s jaw, and  _ breathes _ . 

 

“I want this,” Waverly says clearly, openly, so there’s no possible way Nicole can misconstrue what she’s saying, because she wants nothing but crystal clarity between the two of them in this moment. “I want  _ you _ , Nicole.”

 

“You do?” Nicole asks, her voice breaking over the last syllable, her hands shaking when they move to cover Waverly’s softly on either side of her face. 

 

But Waverly doesn’t reply with her voice, no, she wants to do more than that, she wants to  _ show _ Nicole what she wants, how  _ much _ she wants this, how much she’s  _ sure _ this is what she wants, too. So she allows her eyes to flutter closed, drawing in a breath, still tasting a hint of the peppermint from her tea before leaning in and pressing her lips to Nicole’s again. 

 

She’s never done this before, kiss someone else, not gently or deeply or anything. Champ had been the only real contender, the only person to ever show interest in her like that, but she hadn’t wanted to waste something this important on him, not even as a practice. It had been something she’d been so conscious of during their date on the homestead, nervous about her lack of experience in anticipation of a potential kiss with Nicole at some point during that evening, not wanting to do anything wrong if Nicole  _ had _ made any sort of move to kiss her. 

 

When her lips grace Nicole’s, though, she’s so,  _ so _ glad she waited. 

 

Because her lips are soft beneath Waverly’s, they’re not rough like Champ’s would have been. They’re gentle and smooth, and Nicole’s gentle, too; she holds back, she waits for Waverly to set the pace, something she knows Champ  _ never _ would have granted her. It’s chaste, this second kiss, there’s no hint of tongue or anything deeper, but Nicole sighs against her, and the weight, the significance of the kiss is given away there, because Nicole’s whole body shudders, just slightly, and Waverly has the smallest hint as to just how much this means for Nicole, too. 

 

And she isn’t certain what she’s doing, she’s never had this conversation with her sister - the  _ other _ one, sure - but somewhere in the length of history, the importance of kissing had been lost, and the next act given the only significance, the only thing to be shared with hushed voices between generations. 

 

_ But they’re wrong, _ Waverly thinks to herself, because how could this  _ not _ be important, how could something this intimate  _ not _ be significant. And she doesn’t know what she’s doing, not consciously, but somehow her body does, in part at least. 

 

The kiss is chaste, but at a point, Waverly wants  _ more _ , her  _ body _ wants more, and it isn’t enough to simply have her lips pressed against Nicole’s. She needs more, she needs  _ contact _ , so she takes a half-step closer to Nicole, feeling the front of her thighs meet the front of Nicole’s, and sighs a little herself in relief. 

 

Nicole adjusts the position of her hands on Waverly’s hips to grasp just a little tighter then, and suddenly there’s a drop of urgency that wasn’t there before, because Nicole wants to be closer, Nicole wants more, and  _ god _ , Waverly does, too. 

 

She slides her hand from Nicole’s jaw to sink into the hair at the nape of Nicole’s neck, her fingers spreading and her heart melting at how  _ good _ it feels. Nicole makes a little sound against Waverly’s lips, and Waverly’s not sure if it’s a broken moan or a gasp, but she knows it’s a good noise. 

 

She knows it’s a  _ very _ good noise, in fact, and it’s encouraging, so she presses the length of her body properly against Nicole’s, feeling their thighs meet, and their hips, and stomachs, and then breasts -  _ Jesus, _ Waverly thinks as her breath hitches and she feels Nicole against her chest,  _ their breasts _ \- before swiping her tongue along the bottom of Nicole’s lip, purely on instinct. 

 

The noise that comes from Nicole is louder then, definitely discernible, and before Waverly can follow up her earlier movement, Nicole steps in and  _ leads _ . 

 

She runs her tongue along Waverly’s bottom lip, mirroring Waverly’s action as her hands grasp a little firmer at Waverly’s waist, only this time Waverly’s tongue moves to meet Nicole’s. It’s a strange sensation at first, that initial touch, but then Nicole moves more confidently, sliding her tongue into Waverly’s mouth a little further, and Waverly responds in kind, pushing against what she can now recognise as something deeply pleasant. 

 

Nicole is holding back a little though — Waverly can tell— waiting to see how thoroughly Waverly wishes to reply, and Waverly’s hesitant for a moment, worried she might do something wrong, but then she tries to relax a little, to let her body move her, and when she does, answering Nicole’s attention feels like the simplest thing in the world. 

 

She pushes her tongue against Nicole’s, unable to stop the little groan at the feeling of them sliding together properly, and the kiss deepens instantly. Both hands slide into Nicole’s hair and grasp as she pushes her body up against Nicole’s, and Nicole’s hands at her side tighten further before they move around Waverly’s shoulders, to hold Waverly as tight against her body as they can. 

 

They break for air then, just for a second, their lips the only part of them to separate, and they breathe a little heavily into the silence, smiling shyly at each other. 

 

Nicole’s smile is sweet and soft and kind, exactly as the rest of her is, and all of a sudden, Waverly is overcome with this throb of  _ wanting,  _ like nothing else she’s ever felt before. Her eyes move from Nicole’s lips to her eyes, and it’s not enough that they’re not married at every conceivable point, before she pulls Nicole to her again. It’s easier this time, it’s easier to slide into the next movement, it’s easier to move her hands to stroke Nicole’s jaw before they sink deeply into her long hair again, it’s easy to part her lips and beckon Nicole in, until they’re both breathing heavily. 

 

Distantly, Waverly knows what happens next, she knows what she  _ wants _ to happen next, whether Nicole has thought about it or not, but she’s insurmountably nervous, because she doesn’t know how to  _ do _ what happens next. It worries her for a second, as it has every time she’s allowed herself to think about moving down this path with Nicole, before she realises  _ Nicole will walk me through it, Nicole will help me, she’ll show me _ , and her racing heart slows, just a little. 

 

But then everything slows, because Nicole breaks away with a slightly pained gasp, and Waverly looks at her, worried, her hands sliding down to Nicole’s shoulders. 

 

_ The height difference is lovely _ , Waverly thinks absently, looking up, winding her finger around a piece of Nicole’s hair at the nape of her neck, while Nicole tries to steady her breathing with her head lowered, before raising it to meet Waverly’s eyes. 

 

There’s a conflicted expression in place when she does, one Waverly wasn’t expecting, and she rushes to apologise, not quite knowing what could have put it there.

 

“I’m sorry,” Waverly says quietly, looking to Nicole shyly. “I’m sorry, if I did somethin’ wrong, or-”

 

“No,” Nicole says quickly, shaking her head. “Waverly you didn’t do anythin’ wrong, I should be the one apologisin’ to you. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get a little carried away, and I certainly didn’t mean to rush… I just…”

 

“You’re not rushin’ me into anythin’,” Waverly replies with a gentle smile. Because maybe she hasn’t done anything wrong at all. “When I told you I want this, I mean… I mean everythin’, Nicole. I want  _ everythin _ ’. I  _ want _ you to get carried away. If that’s what you want, too.”

 

“If that’s…” Nicole trails off, shaking her head before looking up to Waverly with a brilliant smile. “Waverly, of  _ course _ that’s what I want, but… I don’t want you to feel like you’re  _ obliged _ to do anythin’, because… it’s not an insignificant thing we’re talkin’ about here. I want you to…are you sure you know what it means, to…”

 

“Go further?” Waverly finishes for her, watching the concern flicker across Nicole’s face, smothering the urge to smooth those wrinkles out with her thumb. “I mean, I’ve never… I don’t know  _ exactly _ , but I… I  _ want _ to know.” 

 

“You do?” Nicole asks a little breathlessly, and Waverly can see a fine blush spread across Nicole’s throat as she swallows, revelling in the fact that  _ she _ caused that. 

 

“I do,” Waverly nods, scratching the nape of Nicole’s neck lightly, making Nicole shiver again. “Is that… is that alright? Is that what you want, too? I know it’s a burden, havin’ to show me, but…”

 

“Is that alright?” Nicole asks, aghast, her eyes wide in what Waverly thinks is disbelief. “Waverly, you’re talking about allowing me to be your first… of course it’s alright. I should have been askin’ you that, not the other way around.” 

 

“If it’s alright for you to be my first?” Waverly asks, before breaking off with her own blush, trying to control the heat spreading up her chest. “Nicole, I don’t think it ever wanted anythin’ more.”

 

“Really?” Nicole asks quietly, her eyes alight with hope, and Waverly could tell her audibly, but she thinks it’ll be significantly more satisfying to tell her through a kiss. 

 

So she moves one hand up into Nicole’s hair again, beckoning her down, the other steadying herself against her shoulder, and she kisses Nicole as thoroughly as she knows how, feeling something set off low in her belly  _ just _ before they pull away. Nicole leans in, resting her forehead against Waverly’s while they try and catch their breath, and Waverly takes the opportunity in the moment of stillness to ask Nicole a question. 

 

“Does it always feel like this? Kissin’ other people, I mean?” she asks shyly, a little frustrated that her inexperience sets her at a disadvantage. 

 

And as soon as the question leaves her mouth, dread fills her, because what if it’s not as good for Nicole, what if it feels different for her, but her worries are chased away swiftly when Nicole shakes her head. 

 

“No,” Nicole says with a slightly gravelly voice. “No, it’s most definitely not like this. I’ve… I've not kissed a large number of people, but I’ve kissed enough to know that this is… this is different, Waverly.”

 

“It’s not just me then?” Waverly asks, laughing lightly. “This is…”

 

“It’s special,” Nicole smiles in reply with a nod;  _ beams, _ in fact. “This feels very special.”

 

“Have you kissed many other people, before?” Waverly questions as she processes one of Nicole’s comments. “Have you… had relations with many others? It’s not… I don’t mind, I’m just… is it alright that I haven’t?”

 

“There haven’t been  _ scores _ of women,” Nicole replies softly, but seriously, obviously wishing not to upset Waverly, but wanting to tell her the truth. “There have been a… there have been a small number, yes. But I can assure you, none of them…  _ none _ of them have ever felt like this. Not to do them a disservice, but I’ve never… I've never felt for anyone as strongly as I feel for you.”

 

“You haven’t?” Waverly asks, her voice quiet as she slides her hands down Nicole’s arms. 

 

“Never,” Nicole replies easily, shaking her head and looking to Waverly with the most brilliant smile Waverly thinks she has ever seen. “And, ‘course it’s alright that you haven’t had this experience yet. It’s extraordinarily special that you haven’t, in fact.”

 

Waverly sighs in relief and Nicole softens around her, obviously a little pleased to have been able to set one of Waverly’s worries to bed, figuratively speaking. She glances at Waverly’s lips briefly before looking away, and it appears as if she’s trying to control something within herself, before she seems to remember that she  _ can _ kiss Waverly now. Nicole smiles at that apparent knowledge, sliding her forefinger along the line of Waverly’s jaw as Waverly tilts her head back to accept a kiss that Nicole doesn’t hesitate to place, nor deepen. Her stomach drops with the weight of Nicole’s want, suddenly exposed, and it awakens a throb low between her thighs. 

 

“There’s no hurry, though,” Nicole says with a husky tone when she breaks away a second later. “There’s no rush, Waverly. If that’s what you want, we can take our time. We can wait. I can wait, because I want you to be sure. I want you to be certain this is what you want, because… I don’t think I could be with you like that and not… and not be able to have you again. I don’t know if I could bear it.”

 

And it takes Waverly aback for a moment, because Nicole’s voice sounds so terribly vulnerable, as though having Waverly only once and never again might  _ truly _ kill her. So Waverly holds, she pauses and collects her words, because she wants this, she wants Nicole, and she knows exactly what it means.

 

That she would be Nicole’s. And Nicole would be hers. 

 

That she could give Nicole something of hers to hold forever. 

 

“I know what it means,” Waverly says carefully; thoughtfully. “And I still want it, Nicole. I mean it when I say I want everythin’ with you. I know we’ve barely known one another a week, but it feels like I’ve known you my entire life. I feel like I’ve been yours my entire life.”

 

She pauses for a moment, waiting for Nicole to process the information, before she collects herself to say the last of her piece. 

 

“I’m not Shae,” Waverly offers softly. “And I don’t mean any disrespect, it’s just…I’m not going to run. I  _ want _ to be here. I  _ want _ to be by your side. I want to be here with you. I want to give you everythin’. And I know what might happen if folks find out, but I want it anyway.”

 

And honestly, she’s waiting for an argument or question or something from Nicole, but all she gets is a stunned silence, and just when she’s about to ask whether that’s alright, whether she’s said anything out of place, Nicole kisses her. 

 

She kisses her like Waverly hasn’t experienced tonight thus far. It’s deep and  _ long _ and Waverly groans into Nicole’s mouth, the space between her thighs throbbing when Nicole pulls her even closer, and Waverly feels the peak of something that must be Nicole’s nipples against her own through the thin fabric of their nightclothes where her coat has pulled away. 

 

Waverly pants like an animal when they draw away from each other reluctantly, the need for air the only thing to separate them, and then Nicole speaks with a soft tone that sounds like she could almost cry. 

 

“I’m not sure I can tell you what it means to hear you say that, you know,” Nicole says simply, but there’s so much emotion in the curve of her body and the way her skin grazes Waverly’s, that it almost overtakes Waverly, as well. 

 

She can feel her heart pounding in her chest so quickly she fears she might lift off the ground with the force of it, and she knows they have time, but there’s an urgency in her blood that she’s felt since the moment she walked into Nicole’s room, something that makes her feel bold, something that makes her feel brave, something that pushes her on, instead of making her pause. 

 

“I know you said we can wait,” Waverly whispers against Nicole's lips, tasting the sweetness on her breath of the half-eaten cookie Waverly had noticed on Nicole’s desk. “I know you said we could take our time, but…what if I want you to show me tonight?”

 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't make any firm promises, but if real life allows it, I'd like to post the next chapter sooner than a week because while it was really important that these were two chapters, and not one massive long one, I know these two chapters are best read together. 
> 
> Turn that patience dial up and take this chapter in (because it's hard to get a load of messages just asking for moooar, without appreciating the chapter that's just been posted) and I'll hopefully see you in a couple of days. The next chapter will be NSFW, by the way. Keep that in mind.
> 
> Oh, and you can find me on [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) and  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigerlo_), as always.


	16. sixteen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> I had really hoped to post this earlier but I've had a busy, busy real life week and haven't had a spare second to, unfortunately, but here we are anyway, so yay.
> 
> This chapter is definitely not safe for work and is also tremendously close to my heart, so be nice pleeeeease. Thanks as always to @iamthegaysmurf for all her amazing beta, but especially for picking me up and setting me on my feet when I had a mini-melt down about writing this scene. Turns out it was a lot of pressure after writing the 200,000 words before it, building it up.
> 
> Come by [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigerlo_) if you want to share anything or have any questions for me. Oh, also, before I forget, I'm sorry I've totally slipped with answering comments on this fic and I feel so guilty about it, but a massive thank you to everyone who has left one or ten - I read and love them all - and hopefully I'll get a chance to actually reply to them at some stage soon. They're a massive boost though, and I adore everyone for taking the time to leave them so please carry on!
> 
> Finally, the tags in this fic say 'slow burn' and this chapter is very, very long, because that's the pay off I thought was needed for the characters at this point. So enjoy and appreciate that :) 
> 
> x

_-_

 

_“I know you said we can wait,” Waverly whispers against Nicole's lips, tasting the sweetness on her breath of the half-eaten cookie Waverly had noticed on Nicole’s desk. “I know you said we could take our time, but…what if I want you to show me tonight?”_

 

-  
  


 

“Waverly,” Nicole says, reluctantly putting some small distance between them then. “Please, I don’t want to rush anythin’ with you. I don’t want you to get caught up, and regret havin’ moved so fast come the morning. Because I want to, I so  _ deeply _ want to, but I’d hate myself if you regretted even a second of it the next day.”

 

“I know it’s fast, I know all of this is so fast, but it doesn’t feel rushed,” Waverly says carefully, moving her hands down to Nicole’s so she can wind their fingers together. “Does it feel rushed to you?”

 

“Well…  _ no _ ,” Nicole admits a little timidly, and Waverly smiles and closes a part of the gap between them again. “But that’s just me, Waverly. I just don’t want to be the only… I want you to be certain it’s what you want, and that I’m not promptin’ somethin’ you don’t feel ready for.”

 

“But I feel ready,” Waverly breathes as she presses her body close up against Nicole’s again. “It’s fast, but it doesn’t feel fast at the same time. It feels like I’ve been waitin’ my whole life for you, Nicole.”

 

“I know the feelin’,” Nicole says, lowering her gaze before looking up to Waverly, and it’s an almost profound sensation, having someone before her that not only understands in part how she’s feeling, but also reciprocates. 

 

“I need you to trust me, then,” Waverly says quietly, raising their joined hands to kiss Nicole’s knuckles shyly. “Trust me when I say I’d  _ never _ put you in a position like that, where I say yes to somethin’ I’m not ready for, because I know how terrible you’d feel in the aftermath, how guilty, and I’d never want to be the reason for that.”

 

“Waverly Earp, I think I trust you more than I’ve ever trusted anyone in my entire life, and I barely know you yet,” Nicole says so easily that it takes Waverly’s breath with the last syllable, and the only thing to do then is to kiss her. 

 

Waverly surges forward this time, with a confidence she doesn’t  _ quite _ feel, but she knows she wants this, she knows she wants Nicole, so it’s easy to find a little bit of bravery to help her move. Her lips meet Nicole’s quietly at first, small kisses that turn longer, and then bolder, and Waverly nibbles a little on Nicole’s lip to prompt her to part them and let Waverly in. 

 

It still feels very new,  _ kissing, _ let alone kissing like this, but Waverly Earp is nothing if not a fast learner, so she takes note of the way Nicole moves against her, she takes note of the noises that Nicole makes when she does one thing with her tongue or another, or the way Nicole shivers when she scratches her nails lightly at the nape of Nicole’s neck, the way that Nicole’s eyes seem to be getting darker and darker the longer they kiss. 

 

When they part this time, Nicole’s hands hold her close, keeping her from swaying too far backwards, and it makes Waverly’s pulse jump again, because Nicole wants her, Nicole truly  wants her, and the realisation only makes the heat collecting between her thighs grow hotter. 

 

“I want this,” Waverly says, and there’s a shyness in her voice now, her body silently pleading with Nicole’s to pick up the lead from here on out, because this is her heart’s desire, but she doesn’t know how anything really works beyond this point. 

 

She knows there is touching, and kissing, but she doesn’t know how to…

 

“You’re sure?” Nicole asks one last time, and Waverly rewards her patience with another kiss, longer this time, long enough for them to lose sight of where they are, such is the depth of its distraction. 

 

“Very sure,” Waverly nods before she drops her gaze to her feet. “Only I’m a little… I don’t know…”

 

“That’s  more than alright,” Nicole says easily, collecting underneath Waverly’s chin again with her finger, tilting Waverly’s head up so they can set eyes on one another. “I’ll show you. If you’d like me to?”

 

Waverly kisses Nicole again, leaning up on her tiptoes, and they do an almost dance together, because Waverly loses her footing, but Nicole has her, her hands steady on Waverly’s hips, and they do a half-spin still joined, the movement long and feline, before Waverly finds the solidity of ground again, with Nicole’s hands anchoring her easily. 

 

“I’d like that,” Waverly nods quietly, trying to focus on the calm radiating off of Nicole. And she knows Nicole is nervous, too, even  _ with _ experience, but she’s doing her level best to control it in order to ease Waverly’s own nervousness. 

 

Nicole looks down then, for the first time noticing what Waverly’s wearing - only her coat over her nightshirt - and she looks up to Waverly with a smile. 

 

“That’s some outfit you’ve got on there, Miss Earp,” Nicole says, beaming at her, and it’s the perfect thing to break her nervous trance, because she laughs before smoothing down the front of her coat with one hand. 

 

“Well, I didn’t expect I’d be here long,” Waverly says with a touch of sarcasm in her voice. “If I’d have known you wanted my company for any longer, I might’ve dressed more appropriately.”

 

“Oh, so this wasn’t intentional?” Nicole replies a little teasingly, and Waverly laughs softly in reply, because she  knows Nicole doesn’t think this was intentional or part of some ruse. “I happen to think this is just appropriate enough.”

 

“You do?” Waverly asks with her heart in her throat, biting her lip as she watches Nicole follow every one of her movements like a hawk. 

 

“I mean, I like you in  _ anythin _ ’,” Nicole says, shrugging before sliding her hands around to the small of Waverly’s back. “But I can't deny there’s a certain appeal to seein’ you like this, knowin’ you’re…”

 

“Yours?” Waverly finishes for her, looking at her a little coyly, because she’s nervous, but that doesn’t mean she can’t play along a little. 

 

“I would never assume—“ Nicole says, freezing a little in place before Waverly pushes the lower part of her body flush with Nicole’s. 

 

“No, I know you wouldn’t,” Waverly says sweetly, running her palms along Nicole’s arms, up to her shoulders before locking her hands together behind Nicole’s head. “I’m tellin’ you, Nicole. I’m yours. This is yours.”

 

“Mine,” Nicole repeats, looking into Waverly’s eyes, but further, too,  deeper , as if seeing some future there that Waverly can’t. Or hasn’t yet. 

 

They’re still for a second, suspended in time, and Waverly can sense that Nicole is waiting for some kind of sign from her that it’s alright to continue, not wanting to push Waverly to the next part of things before she’s ready, so she gives Nicole one. She drops her hands after a deep breath, moving them to the tie on her coat. She doesn’t even get as far as pulling the tie free, though, before Nicole’s hands stop her. 

 

“Wait,” Nicole says quietly, almost a whisper, and for a second, Waverly’s worried that she’s done something wrong, but then she looks at Nicole again, and doesn’t see error, she sees  want instead. “Can… may I?”

 

Waverly looks to Nicole as a blush spreads across her cheeks, leaving heat in its wake, before nodding and removing her hands with a purposeful slowness, noting the way Nicole’s pupils look to grow as she watches Waverly’s hands drop to her sides. Nicole moves with an equal pace, picking up the end of the tie with one hand while the other slips beneath the length around her waist to hold it, the backs of Nicole’s fingers pressing gently against Waverly’s stomach. 

 

She holds Waverly’s eye-contact the entire time, and Waverly’s so distracted by her gaze, it takes her a moment to register the coat is open and the tie undone. 

 

Nicole looks to Waverly then, the tie still in her hand, before she drops it to take Waverly’s head in her hands, kissing her with a softness and a patience that almost speaks to her. She moves to pull away, to give Waverly some space, but Waverly wants her here, she wants her  close , so her hands find Nicole’s when they drop to her sides, lifting them as her breath stops completely, and placing them on her hips, the warm skin there singing against the contact of Nicole’s warmer hands. 

 

Nicole’s breath catches then, too, and she looks to Waverly with a slightly dazed expression before her body sets in motion something that changes everything. 

 

Her thumbs sweep over the curve of Waverly’s hips through the thin material before they move up onto Waverly’s sides, stopping at her rib cage. She pauses for a second, looking to Waverly for affirmation before her hands move up, slipping beneath the coat at Waverly’s shoulders. She pushes the piece of clothing from Waverly’s body, and they both watch it fall to the ground with some kind of poetic finality, and it’s with awe that Nicole’s eyes move across Waverly’s now reasonably exposed body when the dust settles around it.  

 

“You’re allowed to touch me, too, if you want,” Nicole says, biting her lip and taking Waverly’s hand gently, placing it high on her chest, over her heart and just above her breast. 

 

“I am?” Waverly says a little shyly, and of course she can, now, but she’s so distracted by simply being close to Nicole that she’s not sure what the overwhelming urge is: to look or to touch. 

 

But then she feels Nicole’s heartbeat beneath the palm of her hand and her eyes jolt up to find Nicole’s, and they both smile at Waverly’s realisation as she discovers that  _ no _ , touching is better. Nicole’s breath stays held as Waverly runs her thumb over Nicole’s collarbone.  _ Yes _ , she thinks to herself, touching is  _ much _ better. 

 

The sensation of Nicole warm against her hands doesn’t temper the need to kiss her, it only makes it stronger, so she moves both hands to the back of Nicole’s neck, kissing her deeply, both of them groaning a little before Nicole takes a step back. 

 

A step back towards the bed. 

 

They both pause, still, because they know this is where the evening is going to take them, they know it is, but the insinuation, the tension and anticipation and possibility, means that one tiny step is  loaded . 

 

Nicole looks to her, as if giving Waverly the choice, allowing her to set the pace or stay as they are for a moment, but it’s the simplest thing in the world to take another step back herself. It’s small and it’s slow, but its meaning is extraordinary, and Nicole understands completely. She takes a few more steps, leading Waverly with her, hands still on Waverly’s hips, until the backs of her legs hit the bed. 

 

She sits smoothly at the edge of the bed, one of her hands remaining on Waverly’s hip while the other takes her hand, and suddenly it’s Waverly’s turn to understand. 

 

Taking the hem of her nightdress in her spare hand, Waverly lifts it just enough to give her the freedom of movement to straddle Nicole’s lap, one knee on either side of Nicole’s thighs. She drops the fabric to steady herself with her hand on Nicole’s shoulder before bringing her weight down to rest on Nicole’s lap completely. 

 

“Is this alright?” Nicole asks, one hand still on Waverly’s hip and the other intertwined in Waverly’s own. 

 

“Very,” Waverly says, nodding and trying to keep her cool as Nicole’s hand moves from her hip to run her palm over Waverly’s thigh. 

 

“Still?” Nicole asks a little devilishly when her palm meets bare skin, just pushing the hem of her thin dress up, raising her eyes to catch Waverly’s expression. 

 

She doesn’t go any further, waiting for Waverly’s breath to come again, and Waverly is shocked, honestly, at how much of an effect a simple touch there can bring about her body, her stomach dropping deliciously when her mind jumps ahead. 

 

_ Because if I feel this much when Nicole touches me here, what on earth is it going to feel like when she touches me anywhere else… _

 

“Yes,” Waverly whispers, her voice lost to the sensation of Nicole’s touch before she collects herself enough to lean forward and kiss Nicole again. 

 

It’s the first time like this, and she can’t help but be taken aback by how different it feels to have Nicole this close while they kiss, to have Nicole beneath her while they kiss, because she can feel so much more _._ She can feel the way Nicole’s breath peaks and flows around her own, and the way it’s never steady, not like it normally is. She can see how much of an effect she truly has on Nicole with nothing more than her proximity, and it makes that heat in her belly grow hotter still. 

 

They draw back and Waverly has to rest both palms on Nicole’s chest to steady herself, panting a little to calm her pounding heart. When she stops to look into Nicole’s eyes, she finds Nicole watching her with a kind of abject curiosity that makes Waverly frown. 

 

“What are you thinkin’ about?” Waverly asks a little unsurely, and Nicole smiles wider in reply. 

 

“I’m thinkin’ about you, Waverly Earp,” Nicole replies easily, the sound of her name rolling off of Nicole’s lips like a victory. “Thinkin’ that you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my damn life.”

 

“You’re not really,” Waverly says, screwing her face a little in question, but it only makes Nicole laugh. “ I’m not really.”

 

“Of course I am,” Nicole replies, running her hands up Waverly’s sides before they move to her back, resting just between her shoulder blades. “And of course you are. If you aren’t certain of it, then I’m not tellin’ you enough, because you are the sweetest, kindest, most stunnin’ thing that ever graced this earth.”

 

“You haven’t seen me roll outta bed in the mornin’,” Waverly returns quietly, feeling completely ill-equipped to deal with a compliment like that. 

 

“I think you’ll only be more beautiful in the mornin’, Waverly,” Nicole says sweetly, leaning in to kiss her softly, but not deeply, not thoroughly, in a way that makes Waverly’s skin  ache for more. 

 

“Shall I… would you like me to stay?” Waverly asks shyly, shuffling forward a fraction closer in Nicole’s lap, Nicole’s hands moving back to her thighs to hold her close, too. “So that you might test the theory yourself?”

 

Nicole’s eyes flutter closed at the suggestion, and she takes a deep, shaking breath in, the exhale coming out in a way that turns Waverly’s blood to metal, weighing her down against Nicole, closer,  heavier .  

 

“I don’t think there’s anythin’ in the  world I want more than that,” Nicole says smoothly, looking to Waverly as though she wants to savour this moment for as long as she can.  

 

“No?” Waverly asks, feeling a little bolder with the heat of Nicole’s gaze on her, dropping her hand a little to draw a circle around the area where Waverly thinks Nicole’s heart is, marvelling at the fact that this body is  hers to touch now. “There’s nothin’ you want more than that?”

 

“ _ Well _ ,” Nicole replies slowly, walking her fingers up Waverly’s thigh to rest on her hip again, urging Waverly forward with a hand gentle on the back of her neck, drawing her in. “I can think of a few things that I might want more.”

 

Waverly mewls at Nicole’s touch, she  whimpers , that’s the best way she can describe the sound that falls from her lips. It’s soft and so simply animal that she’s not sure how else to give name to it. 

 

“Will you show me?” Waverly asks with a hushed breath, like she’s almost afraid to speak aloud her desire. “Will you show me what you want?”

 

“It would be my  pleasure , Waverly,” Nicole replies softly, leaning in to kiss her lightly once, twice, before drawing back to watch as Waverly’s eyes open slowly and her blush deepens. “And yours, too, I hope.”

 

She moans at Nicole’s last words, it’s quiet and she bites her lip halfway through it, cutting the sound off, but it’s a moan nonetheless, and Nicole, quick as a whip, doesn’t miss it at all. 

 

“Will you tell me something?” Nicole asks, smiling in response to the sound still ringing in both of their ears, holding the back of Waverly’s neck as she whispers against her lips. “I’ll show you everythin’, I promise, but will you tell me somethin’ in return?”

 

“Anythin’, Nicole,” Waverly says softly, smiling down at her, leaning her head back into Nicole’s touch, trying to calm her roaring nerves with the balm of Nicole’s skin against hers. “I’ll tell you anythin’.”

 

“What do you like?” Nicole asks a little coyly, and there’s a very small hint of nervousness in her voice, but it’s far away, enough for Waverly to feel more than comfortable in the shadow of Nicole’s confidence. “How do you like to be kissed?”

 

“Oh,” Waverly replies, the meaning of Nicole’s words warm against her chest as the woman below her watches her carefully, patiently. “Well, the truth of it is… I don’t think I know?”

 

“You don’t?” Nicole asks, placing a kiss on Waverly’s lips before looking up to her, and her voice is playful, but there’s no hint of teasing at Waverly’s lack of experience, only care, only curiosity at what Waverly might truly enjoy. “I might be able to help there, if you would care to allow me to assist you?”

 

“You can?” Waverly asks in turn, her body humming at the possibility in Nicole’s tone. She moves her hands to rest at the back of Nicole’s neck again, and it’s Nicole that moves into her touch, now.

 

“I  can ,” Nicole affirms surely, nodding, her eyes bright with something that makes Waverly want to come closer still. “I believe I can, at least. If I may?”

 

“Of course,” Waverly replies silkily, biting her lip and watching the way Nicole’s eyes widen in the temptation she tries to etch into her own voice, leaning forward to offer herself to Nicole so that she might try whatever it is she wishes to try.

 

“Tell me, do you like this?” Nicole asks, kissing the edge of Waverly’s mouth, and then pressing another on the line of her jaw. “Or this?”

 

“Mhhhhh, I’m not certain,” Waverly hums a little coyly, moving into Nicole’s affection, very clearly enjoying every second of it. “Perhaps you should show me again?”

 

She can feel Nicole smile against her skin, like she can see to the bottom of Waverly’s ruse, but she doesn’t seem to mind at all, like she’s enjoying every moment of it, too. 

 

“Well, how about here?” Nicole asks, dropping her kiss lower, to the underside of Waverly’s chin, and then lower still, where the muscle of her neck begins. “Do you like this?”

 

The reaction to Nicole’s mouth over her pulse is instant and automatic, her hands closing in Nicole’s hair to hold her close to her throat while her teeth suck ever so lightly before her tongue sweeps over to appease the tingling flesh.

 

“Yes,” Waverly says, only the word is almost incomprehensible, and her voice is part gasp because her heart is busy trying to flutter free from her rib cage. 

 

Nicole’s second smile creates an imprint on her skin that’s almost as powerful as her hands and her mouth, on another mission, because Nicole is enjoying this, Nicole wants this. 

 

Nicole wants _her_. 

 

“And here?” Nicole asks, cradling the back of Waverly’s head now, as her lips find the curve of Waverly’s collarbone. 

 

“Yes,” Waverly breathes again, her eyes closing at the touch and her head falling back against Nicole’s hand, exposing as much skin as she can to Nicole. 

 

Only, Nicole has come to the edge of the skin on offer, her lips at the soft fabric of Waverly’s nightshirt. Nicole releases one of her hands to run her fingers over the messily woven fibres before they pick up the long tie that holds the top quarter of the shirt closed. 

 

Waverly shivers before looking down, realising that the section with the tie threaded through it ends  _ below _ her breasts, meaning if Nicole pulls that loose, she’ll have access to the hollow between them, and, if she moves the fabric just to the side, she’ll…

 

When she looks to Nicole, with a heavy blush across her cheeks, she realises that Nicole’s been waiting, Nicole’s been watching for her okay before continuing, so Waverly gives it hastily, her lips falling apart softly as she nods, mesmerised by the tie being pulled free.  The crosses of the small tie fall back into a single thread that Nicole pulls away, one by one, before the last x releases with a gasp announced by the both of them. Waverly moves forward against Nicole, pushing their hips almost flush, in a way that she hopes Nicole understands to mean,  _ continue, please _ .

 

Which, thank god, is exactly what she does. 

 

She looks to Waverly, pulling her in and kissing her thoroughly before biting her bottom lip softly and moving for the newly revealed skin with dark, hungry eyes. The first touch feels like Nicole has released something warm, blooming against the skin, and Waverly can’t help tightening her hands in Nicole’s hair again, prompting herself to apologise rapidly. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Waverly offers quickly, smoothing her hands over the back of Nicole’s hair, tidying the messy kinks she had made with her fingers a moment ago. “I’m so sorry, Nicole. I hope I didn’t—“

 

Her rambling apology is silenced by a swift kiss, and she can feel the now recognisable curve of Nicole’s lips against hers, smiling, while she whispers warmly against Waverly’s breath. 

 

“Don’t apologise, please,” Nicole asks of her, drawing back so Waverly can take in the smile in its beautiful softness. “It felt… it feels nice, Waverly. I’ll tell you if anything hurts, and until then, my body is as much yours as it is mine now. We both need to look after it, but don’t be afraid to explore it. Touch, and I’ll tell you if there’s ever anythin’ I don’t like, alright? Although, I can’t imagine there would be much on this earth that you could do that I wouldn’t like.”

 

Nicole had given her consent before, for Waverly to touch her freely, but she’s been a little selfishly lost in Nicole’s attentiveness towards her for the last few minutes - or hours, she really isn’t sure at this point - only seeing through the haze of desire now. But now that she has, the possibility of exploring this breathtaking body beneath her is too overwhelming an offer to pass up a second longer. 

 

She slides her hands down to close around the back of Nicole’s neck, leaning in to kiss Nicole once, twice, three times, before tilting her head gently to the side so she can search for Nicole’s pulse with her lips. It takes a few more kisses, not that Nicole seems to mind, before she finds the almost-indiscernible flutter beneath her tongue, and she focuses on the source for a moment, until Nicole starts to make small, breathless noises beneath her. 

 

“Does that feel nice?” Waverly asks a little playfully, smirking at the little sound of exasperation that comes from Nicole when she pulls away. 

 

And she half expects Nicole to tease her a little, or say no even though she means yes, but she doesn’t, she gives Waverly the truth, and that is infinitely more powerful. 

 

“So nice, Waverly, I can’t…” Nicole groans helplessly, her hands in Waverly’s hair, urging her without conscious thought back to her neck, where it’s Waverly’s turn to smile and test a few small variations, desperate to learn what it is that Nicole likes, just as much as Nicole is trying to do the same. 

 

It’s weighty, knowing she can make Nicole look like this, as though she’s unravelling around the edges of her being, like Doc had described the night past on the homestead. She manages to sneak in a few more kisses, swirling her tongue a little around the skin on the last, before Nicole comes to her senses. Waverly feels Nicole close her hands over Waverly’s own, where they now rest, palm down, on her chest

 

“You’re distractin’ me, Miss Earp,” Nicole growls a little, her eyes dropping to the expanses of Waverly’s skin, open for her to see. 

 

“Is that such a terrible thing?” Waverly asks innocently, batting her eyelashes in as guiltless a way as she can, watching as Nicole drops her head with a smile on her lips before looking to her again. 

 

“It is when I’m supposed to be focusin’ on you and not getting distracted by my own pleasure,” Nicole replies easily, repositioning her hands so they’re curved around the small of Waverly’s back. 

 

“But I thought you said I could…” Waverly says, pausing the movement of her hands down Nicole’s arms in confusion, her brow scrunching in a frown. 

 

“No,” Nicole says, shaking her head quickly to correct her. “No, of course you can touch me. I just meant I need to refocus on you, is all. You’re too distractin’ for your own good, but don’t feel as though you need to stop, please.”

 

“Okay,” Waverly replies softly, nodding her understanding and moving her hands as proof. 

 

And she doesn’t mean to, but she tries to readjust her position at the same time, and her hands brush lower than she had intended, sweeping over the tops of Nicole’s breasts. Nicole’s breath hitches in response, Waverly’s stopping altogether as they lock significantly glazed eyes across the small space between them. 

 

The want overtakes Waverly in a flood of sensation again, and she’s suddenly hungry for more, starving even, but Nicole beats her to it, pulling Waverly closer to her with her hands at Waverly’s back, closing her mouth over the newly revealed skin just below Waverly’s throat. She moans almost poetically as Nicole moves her attention lower and lower until her lips meet the raised flesh of the side of Waverly’s breasts, and she stops, looking up to Waverly softly. 

 

“It’s okay,” Waverly offers breathlessly, rolling her body into Nicole’s in a movement that causes Nicole’s eyes to flutter closed. “It’s okay, I want…”

 

Nicole presses one last kiss to the slight rise of Waverly’s breast before pulling away, and Waverly almost groans at the loss of touch, before Nicole’s hands shift higher from her lower back, around so that her thumb brushes the underside of Waverly’s breast, and she realises what it is that Nicole’s doing. 

 

The first touch  _ there _ , Nicole obviously wants to make with her hands and not her mouth, and with the mere thought of it, of what it might feel like, Waverly can feel herself growing warmer and warmer still beneath her thin nightdress. 

 

Nicole’s almost black eyes look achingly hungry, but she doesn’t hurry, she doesn’t rush, taking the time to slowly acclimate Waverly to the sensation. She rubs small half-circles with her thumbs, moving from the underside of Waverly’s breast, higher and higher until she’s almost cupping Waverly. 

 

“Tell me if you don’t like anything, won’t you?” Nicole asks, breaking cleanly out of her haze to check in with Waverly, her eyes showing careful concern with the hunger beaten into submission for the moment. “I want you to say no, or stop, if there’s anything you don’t like, or you don’t feel comfortable with.”

 

And Waverly adores her for her cautious respect, she adores her for walking Waverly so slowly through all this, ensuring she finds pleasure in every part, instead of skipping… _ forward _ …because it’s driving her a little mad in the best way. 

 

Because this touching already isn’t enough. Because Nicole’s gentle caresses aren’t enough, because Waverly needs  more . 

 

“I will, but you’re perfect, Nicole. This is…” Waverly breathes, her voice stumbling over the last syllable when Nicole’s thumb brushes her nipple through her shirt. 

 

“Some people are sensitive here,” Nicole explains slowly, teasing, moving her thumb over the now proud mound. “And some are less so, but I think you might be very…”

 

Nicole trails off herself, lowering her mouth to replace her hand, kissing lightly over the pebbled flesh as her other hand moves to palm Waverly’s opposite breast gently. The joint sensation sends a thick throb right between Waverly’s thighs, and her conscious mind derails completely for a moment, her brain overwhelmed. Nicole’s hands and mouth slow for a moment, waiting for Waverly’s brain to catch up, and before she knows what she’s doing, she’s chasing Nicole’s touch again.

 

Nicole is attentive, too, in a way that Waverly never thought a lover would be, because the second that the thought forms in Waverly’s head -  _ more _ \- Nicole reads her mind and runs her index finger down the hollow between her breasts before slipping beneath Waverly’s thin dress. 

 

She feels the flutter of one finger, and then two, brush her bare nipple before Nicole’s palm closes warm around her, and she bucks forward into Nicole’s hand. 

 

It’s such a different sensation, having Nicole touch her fully and without barrier between them, such a contrast to her own occasional small and hesitant experimental touch. It’s heavy and overwhelming, but soft at the same time, and gentle, too. 

 

“Is this…” Nicole asks, biting her lip and watching Waverly carefully, like she already knows that this is alright, she just doesn’t want to miss a second of Waverly’s response. She wants to hear how much Waverly likes this. 

 

“I want more,” Waverly vocalises shakily, clawing a little desperately at her grip on Nicole’s shoulders. “I want more, but first…”

 

Her words fail her, so she tries to show Nicole what she wants instead, her hands dropping to Nicole’s sides, picking up the bottom of Nicole’s shirt delicately, hoping that this will demonstrate well enough what it is she’s asking Nicole for. 

 

She can see that Nicole has an undertop beneath her shirt, so removing the outer layer won’t leave her completely bare, but it’ll reveal just enough skin for Waverly to take in as Nicole’s touch on her own skin grows bolder and bolder. 

 

Nicole doesn’t protest one drop, raising her arms up the second her brain catches up with Waverly’s request, waiting patiently for Waverly to lift the top up and over her head, which she does with the utmost attention. She’s almost stunned to silence when she discards the item, dropping it to the floor at her side, because Nicole in only a cotton undershirt, without any bindings, takes Waverly’s breath away. 

 

_ Soft _ . That’s the overwhelming thought pulsing in her hands like her heartbeat.  _ Soft... she looks so soft.  _

 

Because Nicole in a simple undershirt is leagues and leagues of creamy white skin, scattered with a few freckles that Waverly can’t resist reaching out to touch, to trace together like a lifeline or a constellation in the sky above them. 

 

The skin is as lovely to touch as Waverly has imagined, creating goosebumps in her wake as she runs her hand from Nicole’s collarbone to the top of her shoulder before returning to trace the curve of her breast against the line of fabric. Waverly looks to Nicole for her nod, trying to act before her nerves get the better of her, drawing in a steadying breath at Nicole’s affirmation and taking the weight of Nicole’s breast into her palm. There’s a sharp intake of breath cut off mid-way and Waverly’s eyes flick to see Nicole with her eyes closed, nodding reassuringly to her.

 

“It’s good,” she says quickly, not wanting to dissuade Waverly from her task, her palm closing over Waverly’s in an attempt - Waverly thinks - to steady them both. “It’s very good, Waverly. It’s…”

 

“You like it?” Waverly asks curiously, testing the pressure of her hold gently, watching the way Nicole reacts to a slightly firmer touch. 

 

“Very much so,” Nicole replies, nodding heavily, swallowing thickly when she drops her eyes to watch Waverly touching her. 

 

“I think you’re a little less sensitive?” Waverly asks a little boldly, before bending so she can press a kiss to Nicole’s clothed breast, placing the last directly over her nipple, glowing at the reaction it earns. “Or perhaps not?”

 

“I hope you don’t mean to tell me that Waverly Earp is a tease?” Nicole says breathily, her head dipped to watch Waverly draw back with a smile on her lips. 

 

“Maybe I am?” Waverly answers smugly, feeling a little satisfied at having garnered such a reaction from Nicole. “What are you going to do about it? Surely you wouldn’t tease me in return? Not when it’s my first…”

 

“Perhaps not the first time,” Nicole returns confidently, and Waverly can feel the muscles in Nicole’s legs beneath her gathering their strength. 

 

She shifts her hands to Waverly’s hips, and in one swift, smooth movement, before Waverly can draw in a full breath, she rolls Waverly onto her back with Nicole kneeling between her legs off the edge of the bed, her hands on the side of Waverly’s thighs. 

 

“But I’d say it’s fair game the second time, wouldn’t you?”

 

Waverly’s lungs let go of the other half of the breath, her eyes falling to the way Nicole’s fingers are toying with the hem of her dress, and Waverly wants nothing more than to feel Nicole’s hands and her lips on all the skin that will be bared, but she wants - no,  _ needs _ \- to see more of Nicole first.  

 

“Yes,” Waverly nods, biting her lip before sitting up, her hands reaching for Nicole’s trousers. “But first, may I…”

 

“Please,” Nicole sighs, her hands leading Waverly’s to the fastening, the belt disposed of long before Waverly’s arrival. “But only if you—”

 

Waverly cuts her off with a kiss, suddenly missing the taste of Nicole against her own tongue, completely unsure how she’s ever going to manage more than an hour without kissing Nicole for the rest of their lives. 

 

This kiss is different to the others, it feels on the precipice of something, and she knows by the quiver in Nicole’s hands against her own that she feels it, too. But Waverly doesn't slow to watch it pass, or wait for it to walk to meet them, she takes a breath and leans in, slipping the button of Nicole’s trousers open at the same time as she pulls back from their kiss. 

 

“Stand?” Waverly beckons, and it’s a question and order, both, but Nicole answers her regardless. 

 

She rises slowly, until her hips are at Waverly’s eye level, and Waverly’s hands set to work, running her fingers beneath the rougher fabric of her pants until she can tug them gently down and over Nicole’s hips.

 

Her hands move down Nicole’s thighs, taking the fabric with them, and Waverly isn’t sure she hasn’t transcended up some thousand score above them, because Nicole steps out of her trousers, standing in front of Waverly in her thin undershirt and underpants, and Waverly isn’t certain how any of this could possibly be anything but a dream. 

 

Nicole stands there, almost shyly, watching Waverly from beneath those deceptively long lashes, and Waverly loses herself momentarily in that fact that this is hers.

 

“I am all yours, Waverly Earp,” Nicole says, and Waverly realises she must have spoken aloud, blushing before Nicole leans down, tipping Waverly’s head back gently so she can kiss her properly,  thoroughly , so much so that Waverly doesn’t even notice pulling Nicole down on top of her until Nicole’s weight settles fully between her thighs and Nicole’s voice breaks the silence between them. “In fact, I don’t think I have ever been anyone else’s.”

 

“I always worried I wouldn’t ever be anyone’s, did you know? It felt like there was always an empty space next to me, no matter if there was someone standin’ there or not,” Waverly says quietly, whispering against Nicole’s lips as she drapes her arms around Nicole’s neck. “But now, I think I was just waitin’ for you.” 

 

“I’m glad you did,” Nicole says, bumping her nose gently against Waverly’s, bringing a smile to Waverly’s eyes.  “Because I think I might have followed you, whether you had someone in your bed or not.”

 

“You’re teasin’, Nicole Haught. I am not that…” Waverly begins, before trailing off, blushing at her own shyness. 

 

“What?” Nicole asks, amused as she draws back a little. “Desirable? I hate to amend your manner of thinkin’, Miss Earp, but you have never been more incorrect. You are the single most desirable thing I have seen to date. And that includes your aunt’s cooking.”

 

“I cannot believe you have room in your mind for food in this moment,” Waverly replies, laughing a little, watching the grin glow across Nicole’s cheeks, too. 

 

“That is only because you look positively edible, Waverly,” Nicole returns seriously, her eyes darkening as if on cue. “I can’t decide where I want to kiss, my mind keeps drawing my lips everywhere at once.”

 

“Can I ask you a question?” Waverly asks, desperate to get this one thing out before she loses her coherency, because Nicole between her thighs is easily the most distracting thing to happen thus far. 

 

“Always,” Nicole replies, easing back and giving Waverly an inch of breathing space, which Waverly narrows almost instantly, not wanting the distance there, wanting Nicole close instead. 

 

“Why is it that you’ve never spoken to me like this before? So…boldly,” Waverly asks a little shyly, and Nicole blushes before looking to Waverly with a soft expression woven behind her eyes. 

 

“I didn’t wish to offend you,” Nicole replies simply, shrugging as much as their positions will allow. “I didn’t know if you wanted me to speak to you like this. I didn’t wish to cross a line in the event that you didn’t want it.”

 

“Oh,” Waverly answers quietly, her brain processing the thoughtful answer, taken aback again by Nicole’s sweetness and the respect she shows in such a seemingly effortless way. 

 

“But, if you do want it,” Nicole says smoothly, punctuating her words with quick kisses to the edge of Waverly’s mouth. “Then that’s a very different story.”

 

“And just how is that a very different story?” Waverly asks coyly, and she’s as nervous as hell still, but there’s something empowering in knowing how much Nicole seems to want her that gives her something strong to line her words with. 

 

“Well,” Nicole smiles dangerously before lowering herself to kiss the bare skin at Waverly’s neck, revealed by her loose shirt. “If it’s somethin’ you want, if it’s somethin’ you desire, then I should take every opportunity to tell you things.”

 

“Such as?” Waverly asks, trying to control the quaver in her voice when Nicole’s kisses move to the rise of her breast, nudging the fabric back, almost revealing her heavily pebbled nipple. 

 

“That I’ve been thinkin’ what it might be like to kiss you since the first day we met,” Nicole replies softly, smiling up at Waverly from her position on Waverly’s chest, with a crystalline transparency that tells Waverly there is nothing but truth in her words. 

 

“What else?” Waverly questions with a moan, rolling her body up against Nicole’s mouth, and winding her hands in Nicole’s hair again, urging her to close her mouth over her breast fully. 

 

“There were a number of things I wanted to think about, but I tried my utmost not to think of anythin’ too scandalous, in the event that they would only ever be dreams,” Nicole offers, brushing Waverly’s nipple with the softest pass of her lips. “I couldn’t bear to substantiate the dream of you, knowing I might never have you.”

 

“So you didn’t think about…” Waverly says a little sadly, feeling somehow disappointed that Nicole hadn’t thought of her in other ways. 

 

“I didn’t say I didn’t,” Nicole admits with a smirk that heats Waverly to her core. “Only that I knew I shouldn’t. And let me tell you somethin’, Waverly Earp. My most hopeful dreams pale in comparison to you in front of me.”

 

“They do?” Waverly asks, almost hesitantly, like she’s afraid Nicole might change her mind, because it’s almost improbable to her that such a thing might be true. 

 

“Absolutely,” Nicole says heavily before she leans down and takes Waverly’s nipple into her mouth, and Waverly’s back bends sharply. 

 

Nicole hums in surprise and pleasure at Waverly’s reaction, swirling her tongue around the bud, her other hand slipping beneath Waverly’s shirt to caress the bare breast softly as she uses her weight to anchor Waverly against the bed. 

 

“Jesus,” Waverly pants, her breath coming in heavy gasps as Nicole holds her still and steady, never ceasing her actions for a second, and the heat that’s beginning to gather between her thighs, hot and all-consuming,  _ pulses _ in time with the circles of Nicole’s tongue. 

 

Nicole looks up smugly when she pulls away, her lips so stunningly kiss-swollen that Waverly can’t help but pull Nicole to her, and it’s something to have Nicole focus her attention on her chest, but it’s something else entirely to have the whole length of Nicole against her, while Nicole kisses her to within an inch of her life. 

 

Her leg slides up the outside of Nicole’s, holding Nicole as close to her as possible, and Nicole makes a sound close to a growl when she squeezes her thigh in an attempt to garner some small amount of friction, trying to alleviate this sensation at her core. Nicole seems to sense that she’s ready for whatever is to come next, bringing her hand from Waverly’s breast to run the line of her jaw.

 

“Waverly, I’m not sure how comfortable you feel, but…” Nicole begins, and Waverly can see the toll it’s taking on her to keep herself calm, to slow down and speak softly instead of kissing her again. “We can… we can stay as clothed as we are, or…”

 

“Off,” Waverly says, shaking her head the second Nicole finishes her sentence, before realising that the offer might have been for herself as much as for Waverly. “I mean, only if it’s somethin’ you feel comfortable with, too, that is? I just, I want you to see me, if you want to?”

 

“I want that very much,” Nicole says, releasing the breath held fast between her teeth. “And I want you to see me also, if that’s—“

 

“It’s what I want,” Waverly replies hotly, twisting one hand in the fabric of Nicole’s undershirt while the other pushes the thin strap off of Nicole’s shoulder. “It is most definitely what I want.”

 

She leans up, pressing a kiss to the bare skin of Nicole’s shoulder before sitting up, Nicole mirroring the movement to sit, too. Her hands find the hem of Nicole’s top, and she starts to gather it up Nicole’s stomach. Nicole, for her part, looks wholly transfixed by the movement of Waverly’s hands, jumping a little when Waverly’s fingertips brush over her stomach. 

 

“You’re ticklish?” Waverly asks with a wide smile, pausing the movement of her hands to watch Nicole’s expression carefully. 

 

“Absolutely not,” Nicole replies seriously, her face completely neutral, but Waverly’s already drawing her fingertips over Nicole’s sides, grinning victoriously when Nicole squirms away from her touch. 

 

She puts up with Waverly’s teasing for about five seconds before she grins, grabbing both of Waverly’s hands and moving smoothly, leading Waverly gently onto her back, pinning them above her head, coming to rest on top of Waverly with a small huff. 

 

“You’re ticklish,” Waverly beams, biting her lip as she tries to control the urge to groan at the feeling of Nicole bearing down over her. 

 

“I’m also stronger than you,” Nicole replies playfully, her expression wicked, her eyes glowing at the sight of Waverly beneath her. 

 

And it’s hard not to get lost in the feeling, when Waverly thinks about it, because it’s more than a little intoxicating, having every single one of her senses flooded with Nicole. 

 

Waverly can hear and smell and taste and see and touch and  _ feel _ her, and she doesn’t know which sense is more rewarding, because they’re beautifully overwhelming in their own rights. 

 

She breathes in a sweet wave of Nicole mingled with their perfume; she sees Nicole’s ribs stretch as she takes the scent in, too; she can hear Nicole’s heartbeat through her lips when they kiss; she tastes the lingering sweet and mint flavours on her tongue, and their desire there, too; and she can feel Nicole, gently heavy, draped over her body like the most glorious prize in the world. 

 

“I like that you’re stronger than me,” she says finally, licking her lips, thirsty for the relief Nicole’s mouth provides. “It makes me feel safe.”

 

“That’s all it makes you feel?” Nicole asks teasingly, raising an eyebrow as she pauses for a moment. “I mean, I’m more than happy it’s a comfort, but…”

 

“No, it’s not all it makes me feel,” Waverly admits with a blush, watching Nicole’s eyes darken at her admission. 

 

“Would you share what else it makes you feel?” Nicole asks her softly, almost reverently, as though she gets as much from Waverly’s affirmation as Waverly does from her. 

 

“I don’t know how to…” Waverly starts, before her lack of experience stalls her, because she knows Nicole makes her hungry, even with a full belly, and parched after a tall glass of water, she’s just not overly sure of how to express that yet, in other words. 

 

“It’s okay,” Nicole offers reassuringly, softening at the frown on Waverly’s brow. “It’s okay, Waverly, I didn’t mean to push.”

 

“No,” Waverly says, shaking her head lightly. “You didn’t push at all, it’s… I don’t think I know how to tell you yet exactly… you just make me feel, Nicole. You make me feel  _ everythin’ _ . And I know a good deal is desire, but there’s more, too.”

 

“There is?” Nicole asks softly, waiting with a held breath for Waverly to speak, still holding Waverly’s wrists gently above them. 

 

“So much more,” Waverly replies easily, trying to sear this memory of Nicole into the middle of her chest, beautiful and strong, and open and vulnerable, too. “And I know it’ll only grow deeper and deeper still, because I feel all this, and you haven’t even… we haven’t even…”

 

Nicole seems to sense the change in Waverly, the want for more, the need for more, and she shifts the conversation slightly in response to what she knows Waverly is silently asking for. 

 

“If I let go, do you promise to use your hands for good only?” Nicole asks with a playfully serious and stern tone. 

 

“Who says that wasn’t for good?” Waverly answers with a hint of teasing, too, pushing her body up against Nicole’s, causing Nicole to push down a little firmer in reaction. 

 

“I say that wasn’t for good, Miss Earp,” Nicole says, using the best imitation of her deputy voice that she can summon in a situation like this, and the timbre of it makes Waverly shiver. “And I’m the law woman, I should know.”

 

“I promise I’ll only use them for good, and so help me, I’ll be at your mercy if I don’t,” Waverly replies sweetly, watching Nicole blush as she plays along with the little game. 

 

“You know that I’m the one at your mercy, don’t you?” Nicole says to her, and the purity and gentleness in her voice makes the hairs on Waverly’s arms stand on end. “Because I am, Waverly. I’m so completely yours, I can’t describe how deeply that is true.”

 

“And I am yours, Nicole Haught,” Waverly offers, kissing the corner of Nicole’s mouth, pulling Nicole closer with her leg wrapped around Nicole’s thigh. 

 

“Really?” Nicole asks a little breathlessly, like she can’t quite believe what Waverly is saying, one of her hands coming out to graze Waverly’s cheek, as though reassuring herself that the figure beneath her body is real, and not some cruel figment of her imagination. 

 

“Truly,” Waverly replies, watching Nicole’s smile when the words find her fully.

 

Nicole kisses her then, deeply, soundly, _soulfully_ , and Waverly begins to feel as though her skin is lit like a fireless flame, because Nicole is heavy and Nicole is warm, and Nicole is hers, all hers, and she’s bringing pleasure to the surface all across Waverly’s body in a way she didn’t even know was possible. Only it’s not enough, it’s not enough, because Nicole is so close and she’s so warm, but she could be closer, she could be warmer, because there’s still a barrier between them, that Waverly, in all her nervousness and inexperience, wants gone immediately, so that Nicole might show her everything.

 

“I’m all yours, Nicole,” Waverly breathes against Nicole’s lips, before exhaling with a sound she’s not sure isn’t a growl. “Although, I’m afraid if you don’t take this shirt off me soon, I’ll crumble into ash.”

 

Nicole kisses her fiercely in reply, freeing her hands and running them down the length of Waverly’s body, over hips and along thighs, until they meet the edge of Waverly’s clothing. 

 

Her fingers slip under the fabric before they begin to push it up, slowly, slowly, slowly, until Waverly feels like she can’t breathe. She raises her hips slightly off the bed, so Nicole can lift her shirt past them, revealing her bloomers, and then the pale smoothness of her stomach, and then baring her breasts finally to the cool air of the room, before she can run the piece of clothing up Waverly’s arms and off, discarding it to the side. 

 

Nicole sits back on her knees after Waverly’s shirt is gone, and she should feel naked, but she doesn’t, because Nicole’s gaze is soft and comforting and hungry, too, and Waverly’s so distracted by it, that she doesn’t have a chance to feel embarrassed or vulnerable. 

 

She had been a little worried about this, about being unclothed in front of Nicole, because she’s never really had any idea of whether her body is something capable of drawing another in, or not. She knows she’s lean and she knows she’s reasonably lucky in some areas, but she has no idea if such a form is attractive to someone like Nicole. 

 

One glance at Nicole’s expression assuages her worries instantly, because there’s want in Nicole’s eyes, unbridled and heavy and so thoroughly there, that her concerns just dissolve. Instead of covering herself with her arms, she pulls Nicole to her, her hands winding in Nicole’s hair, her lips parting in anticipation of the kiss she can almost taste on her tongue. 

 

Nicole speaks to her in between kisses, her words as soft as the lips she presses down Waverly’s throat,  _ you’re beautiful, Waverly,  _ along the line of her collarbone,  _ you’re so beautiful,  _ down between her breasts,  _ breathtakingly beautiful,  _ before finally fixing her lips around one, taking Waverly’s nipple, hot and peaked, into her mouth. 

 

She groans in response, her back lifting off the bed, because feeling Nicole’s hands move over her bare skin is almost overwhelming, but she’s hungry, she’s greedy, and she wants to feel all of Nicole against her own skin now, too. 

 

Her hands go to Nicole’s undershirt, her mouth finding the line of Nicole’s shoulder as she bends up a little to reach, and she drags her teeth a bit with the kiss, just to see what Nicole does, revelling when Nicole gasps in response. 

 

“Off, please,” Waverly says, holding Nicole’s eye while she brings the top up Nicole’s torso, only breaking the eye contact when Nicole has to shift slightly so Waverly can pull it over her head. 

 

She can feel a slight note of hesitation in Nicole’s body, a flash of insecurity maybe, when she discards Nicole’s top, but she can’t for the life of her understand why, because Nicole is gorgeous. Waverly’s always been drawn to the female figure, always, for as long as she can remember, if she’s true to herself, and Nicole - in her eyes, anyway - can’t be far from perfect.

 

She touches, because she can’t not touch, the second the mostly-pale skin fills her vision, running her hands up the flat of Nicole’s stomach, over a scar at the bottom of her ribs, and another up higher across her shoulder, before moving to cup Nicole fully, the weight in her hand making Waverly close her eyes and shudder before she can carry on. 

 

“Nicole,” she breathes when her eyes flutter open, moving to replace her hand with her mouth, relishing the way Nicole bends towards her touch,  _ her _ touch,  _ hers _ \-  _ she _ is making Nicole feel this way. 

 

Waverly can feel Nicole’s head bow above her, and she swirls her tongue over Nicole’s nipple, as she had done before, smirking at the way Nicole’s breathing hitches loudly, and her chest bucks, and then before Waverly can move to her other breast, Nicole’s moving them, shifting them so Waverly can finally lay her head on a pillow, and Nicole can slide between her thighs. 

 

Waverly’s heart starts beating noisily at that point, thudding messily in her chest, because she knows what will happen now, she knows Nicole is trying to make her more comfortable, so they can…

 

But Nicole speaks, almost whispering into the silence, and it makes Waverly’s heart bend even further into a shape for Nicole only.

 

“Is this…” Nicole starts before collecting herself, shaking her head above Waverly. “Is this what you were expectin’ so far? Is this what you wanted so far?”

 

“No,” Waverly answers easily, smiling and speaking again before Nicole has the chance to look disappointed. “It’s so much more than I was expectin’, and we haven’t even…”

 

“It’s more than?” Nicole asks softly, glowing in the warmth of Waverly’s compliment. “How so?”

 

“I just didn’t think it was possible to feel like this?” Waverly admits, blushing a little and sighing heavily when Nicole lowers herself completely against her. “It’s like everythin’s burnin', but all I want to do is throw myself into the flame instead of running away.”

 

“You didn’t think it would be this much?” Nicole asks with a little smile, not in a way that condescends Waverly’s inexperience, but rather that highlights the sweetness in it. 

 

“No,” Waverly shakes her head, looking to Nicole. “I mean, Wynonna told me once about the duty a woman has towards her husband, but she never mentioned pleasure like this, or desire, only what was expected. And I knew things would be different with you, because you’d never expect anythin’, and just bein’ close to you gives me a kind of pleasure, but I didn’t know… I just didn’t know it would be like this.”

 

“You know, I can make you feel even more,” Nicole offers a little coyly, before Waverly can press their lips together again. “If that’s still what you want…”

 

And the words are merely spectacle at this point, because Nicole knows what Waverly wants, because the way she’s desperately moving into Nicole’s hands tells her so, but the way she reaches for Nicole’s hand shows her so. 

 

She places Nicole’s hand over her heart, mostly covering her breast, and the motion brings Waverly’s healing bruise proudly into view. 

 

Waverly moves to hide it, to obscure it from view, but Nicole reaches for her wrist, gently turning it over and pressing kiss after kiss to the still tender skin, but it doesn’t hurt. Just as it was a day past, Nicole’s lips are healing, they’re a balm, they make Waverly smile softly instead of drawing back and trying to hide the evidence of Champ’s mistreatment. 

 

Nicole moves from her forearm, dropping kisses to Waverly’s hand, her fingers and palm, before moving to Waverly’s neck, over her pulse, up her jaw, where Waverly takes her face in her hands, kissing Nicole soundly and then whispering clearly to her lips  _ this is still what I want.  _

 

Waverly’s stomach jumps when Nicole’s hand moves down at her final affirmation, the muscles leaping to meet her touch, and she tries to struggle in a hasty breath, but she fails miserably, because Nicole’s hand slips beneath the waistband of the last barrier between them, and nothing else matters. 

 

She’s been aroused before, only a small number of times truly so, and almost all of those falling within the last week, but this is different, even compared to the way Waverly had felt on the ride out to the homestead - the proximity of Nicole and the way they’d been so close, driving her a little mad - this is different. Because Waverly can feel the desire thick between her thighs before Nicole even touches her, and then she does, and Waverly loses her mind. 

 

Nicole’s hand follows the curve of her pubic bone, slipping into a heavy warmth, and at that very first moment when Nicole makes contact, Waverly groans, wanton and unrestrained and almost pained, because that’s how good it feels. 

 

Her breath catches halfway up her throat, and Nicole watches her carefully, ensuring it’s a good noise, before she starts moving her fingers gently, softly, exploring, testing the way she thinks Waverly might like to be touched best. 

 

She’s wet, she can feel just how much so when Nicole spreads her open, moving the desire collected against her fingers to follow her path, and Waverly can’t help one of her hands from moving down to clutch at Nicole’s forearm, the one moving, anchoring herself against Nicole, and Nicole to her, too, because she can’t bear the idea of Nicole taking her hand away now that she’s started. 

 

“This is okay?” Nicole asks, and her voice is cautious, but there’s a wide smile there, too, because she can see the fresh blush across Waverly’s cheeks and over her chest, she can see how much Waverly is enjoying this as clearly as if Waverly had spoken as much out loud. 

 

“Jesus, Nicole,” Waverly gasps, feeling Nicole move from experimentation to a rhythm, diverting every few moments in a way that makes Waverly roll her hips up towards Nicole’s hand harder. “Very, very okay, just promise me you won’t stop.”

 

“I won’t stop,” Nicole affirms, brushing her lips against Waverly’s before kissing her properly, sighing when Waverly’s tongue pushes into her mouth insistently. “I promise I won’t stop, Waverly. Not until you tell me to.”

 

“Why in sweet hell would I ever tell you to stop?” Waverly asks, desperately threading her hands into Nicole’s hair, pulling her closer, the pleasure forming beneath Nicole’s hand only strengthening when Waverly feels their breasts meet. 

 

Because Nicole’s nipples are tight buds against the sensitive skin of her own, and she knows what that means, she knows that means Nicole is turned on, too, that she’s enjoying this, too, and that thought only makes her back arch more sharply. 

 

Waverly feels Nicole’s fingers dip lower in their ministrations, and her mind fills with the memory she has of Wynonna telling her that men find their pleasure in that way, and she’d never warmed to that idea, not when a man would have been the one sharing her bed, but here, safe with Nicole and so heavy with pleasure because of Nicole, Waverly can’t deny that the idea has some merit. 

 

Even though Wynonna has told her it hurts the first time, even though she warned Waverly of the discomfort, because somehow Waverly knows that Nicole will do everything she can to ensure Waverly meets as little pain as possible. She doesn’t think Nicole will lead her that way just yet, though, not for their first time, even though Waverly’s tempted to draw her hand lower already to feel more, to feel Nicole inside her, too. Nicole’s fingers dip lower quickly, though, brushing against her, and it brings a shudder in her belly that she thinks Nicole notices, as well.

 

But Nicole shifts her attention, she doesn’t focus on that for now, she focuses on something else, on drawing long lines and tight circles across Waverly’s aching core, taking the flesh of Waverly’s breast into her mouth, and against her teeth, working her up, and up, and up. 

 

The rhythm Nicole is moving her fingers in is starting to draw a ball of tension together in Waverly’s core; it’s tight, but not tight enough, like her body is struggling to keep the threads gathered together. It makes her blood flutter, and her muscles stretch and contract, longer and harder with each breath, and Nicole smiles into a kiss when she senses the more desperate change in Waverly’s movements. 

 

And distantly, Waverly thinks she knows what’s going on inside her body, thundering through her veins, because she knows men climax, and while she’s never had it confirmed, she’s always assumed women must, too. 

 

This must be it, the way her blood feels like it’s boiling, but that there’s an end in sight, too, like she must surely meet a crescendo soon, she must, she must, she…

 

It almost feels like a physical blow, that’s how intense, how immense, how heavy the sensation is that floods from somewhere deep in her belly,  _ out _ . She was expecting something if she was able to reach some sort of peak, but not this, not this much, not this…

 

Her vision blurs and her muscles tense and she grasps a little wildly for Nicole, reaching to hold her close, to pull her near, to tether her to something, anything that doesn’t make her feel like she’s only made of smoke. 

 

“It’s okay, Waverly. You can let go,” Nicole purrs against her lips, and Nicole’s voice guides her, it gives her something to focus on, to fix herself to, while a current makes its way through her entire body, leaving pleasure and relief in its wake. 

 

Waverly’s not sure if it’s Nicole’s gentle beckoning, lengthening the strokes of her fingers as she never breaks contact with her centre, or the way she kisses Waverly so deeply that she feels like she’s coming all over again that prolongs her pleasure, but something does, until she’s a shuddering, breathless mess in Nicole’s arms. 

 

The last quiver leaves her body before Nicole takes her hand away slowly, leaning in to kiss her soundly, maintaining some kind of heavy contact so that Waverly doesn’t feel any absence, the soft lull of her voice bringing Waverly back into her body slowly. 

 

“Good lord,” Waverly utters, her voice rough, stretching back against the bed slowly before relaxing against Nicole’s waiting body, hovering just above her, waiting for Waverly to settle. “That was…”

 

“Okay? Was that okay?” Nicole finishes for her, and she’s expecting a gently self-satisfied or certain look on her face, because how can she not be sure of how good that was, but there’s a soft hesitancy instead, as though waiting for an assurance from Waverly. 

 

“Okay?” Waverly asks a little disbelievingly, reaching to tuck some of Nicole’s hair, loose around her face, back behind her ear. “Nicole, that was… I didn’t even know somethin’ like that was possible.”

 

“It was okay, then?” Nicole asks, sighing, relaxing in some great relief against her. “Thank goodness.”

 

“Nicole, you’re… how could you not think that was incredible?” Waverly asks, taking Nicole’s face in her hands. 

 

“Because I’m your… you’ve never done this before, Waverly, and I didn’t know what your expectations were. I didn’t know if I’d be able to live up to… I was worried I might not be everythin’ you were hopin’ for.”

 

“Heavens, you were…” Waverly says before breaking off, shaking her head. “I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t have any idea what this was supposed to feel like, let alone have an expectation for how good it was goin’ to be.”

 

“So this was alright? You’re not disappointed?” Nicole asks hopefully, and it’s everything Waverly can do not to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness that someone who can do that to her body could ever disappoint her. 

 

“Nicole, I don’t think anythin’ you could do in bed would ever disappoint me, but I can assure you that this most certainly did not,” Waverly says firmly, kissing Nicole soundly for good measure. 

 

And she feels a little awful, because she had no idea that Nicole might have been feeling worried about this beforehand, not that she’d exactly planned for this to happen tonight, but she had assumed Nicole would simply be more than comfortable, given she had been with women before. 

 

“I feel like I owe you an apology for not makin’ that clearer,” Waverly offers quietly, pressing small kisses to Nicole’s cheeks. “I feel dreadful for not thinkin’ about it—“

 

Nicole interrupts her, kissing her slowly, and so deeply that Waverly forgets what it was that she was midway through saying, until Nicole speaks again. 

 

“You most certainly do not owe me anythin’, let alone an apology,” Nicole says sweetly, smiling in relief at her. “It was my worry, Waverly. Not your own. I’m just relieved that I could make your first…”

 

“Incredible,” Waverly finishes for her, unable to stop the light flooding from her. “It was incredible, Nicole. Thank you. For takin’ your time, for easin’ me through it, for takin’ care of me.”

 

“I’ll never not do every single one of those things, every time you choose to take me to your bed, Waverly,” Nicole says softly, this beautiful look of vulnerability on her face when she adds, “should you wish to do so again.” 

 

“You’re not serious are you?” Waverly balks, genuine shock flooding her system. “How do you think I’m ever gonna let you out of bed again now that I know you can do that.”

 

“You mean…” Nicole trails off, too nervous to actually ask Waverly what is it she wants to ask, but it doesn’t matter, because Waverly kisses her gently before completing the thought for her. 

 

“I never intended for this to happen tonight, but I wanted it to, at some point, and it was never an option for this to only happen once, Nicole,” Waverly offers, her throat a little thick as she bares her heart. “I don’t think I could take only bein’ with you once. I gave you everythin’ knowin’ this would be a forever thing, and I thought that was what you maybe wanted, too, but it’s okay if it’s n—“

 

It’s beginning to become a habit for them, cutting one another off with a kiss midway through a sentence of nonsense, and Waverly sighs into this one, knowing what it means, that Nicole does want this forever. 

 

That anything else simply isn’t an option. For either of them. 

 

“I feel like I’m dreamin’. Like this can’t possibly be real,” Nicole says sweetly, making them both smile, rolling onto her back, drawing Waverly in close so her ear rests over Nicole’s heart, and Waverly can’t help but agree. 

 

Because this all seems far too good to be true, if she’s honest with herself, because things like this - finding someone who cares for her so deeply, who might one day love her - they don’t happen to Waverly Earp. 

 

“You know it’s not simply because of how you can make me feel, don’t you?” Waverly says then, because she’s almost certain that Nicole knows this, but she needs to make it clear, she needs Nicole to know how deep her feelings actually take root. 

 

“It’s a nice accompaniment, though, isn’t it?” Nicole offers playfully, before dropping her gaze gently. “I’m jokin’. I know what you mean, Waverly. I know. Why do you think I said this all felt like a dream? I can’t believe you… I can’t fathom that you actually return my…”

 

“You’d best start believin’ it, Miss Haught,” Waverly says, her voice soft as she tilts Nicole’s bowed head up to meet her eyes. “Because I’m afraid I’m awfully fond of you, and I don’t think that’s ever going to wane.”

 

Nicole’s eyes go a little glassy before they flutter closed under the sheer weight of the meaning behind Waverly’s words, and Waverly takes it as the perfect distraction to start to reciprocate, to begin to explore this breathtaking body draped over her own. She kisses the corner of Nicole’s mouth, the line of her jaw, and her neck, lower and lower until she meets Nicole’s collarbone, and Nicole looks to her in slight surprise, almost perplexed at what it is Waverly’s doing, and it makes her falter. 

 

“Is this not…” Waverly asks hesitantly, her cheeks burning a little in embarrassment. “Do you not like to be…?”

 

“Do I not like…” Nicole repeats, as if trying to unbind whatever it is Waverly had asked, before her expression changes drastically. “Oh, you mean…”

 

“Because I don’t have to, I just…” Waverly begins, before trailing off a little awkwardly, but when she looks into Nicole’s eyes, there’s nothing but softness and comfort, so she continues. “I just, I want to know what you like, too. I want to make you feel like you make me feel. Not that I think I’ll be anywhere near as proficient, but I’d like to try? Only if you want to, though, Nicole, because I don’t want to do anythin’ you don’t.”

 

“You do?” Nicole asks, still looking slightly perplexed, like she can’t quite believe what it is that Waverly’s offering. 

 

“Of course I do,” Waverly smiles softly, reaching to run her thumb along the line of Nicole’s jaw. “Maybe as much as I want you to touch me.” 

 

“Really?” Nicole questions again, unmistakably taken aback by Waverly’s easy willingness to reciprocate, and Waverly can’t help but gather the meaning behind her surprise. 

 

“Do you mean to say, have your… in the past, have they not…?” Waverly asks a little shyly, still not certain about how she should approach this, not wanting to offend Nicole, but wanting to make it clear that she is completely interested in being an equal partner in this in every way. 

 

“Not always. I mean, I’ve had partners before that did, and some that didn’t, and that was fine, but I didn’t want to assume anythin’ with you,” Nicole says kindly, and it almost makes her heart ache for Nicole then, because how could anyone not have wanted to give Nicole everything they had to give. 

 

“But what about Shae?” Waverly asks, hesitant to use her name, lest it upset Nicole, but there’s no recoil in her eyes at the sound of it, no lingering sadness or fondness, only objectivity. “Surely she must have…”

 

“She wasn’t overly fond of…I mean, sometimes she would, but…” Nicole doesn’t quite finish, and Waverly has a distinct impression that Nicole’s trying her best not to be unkind, so she changes the subject slightly. “But others did, and some didn’t. I’ve just never expected it, is all. I enjoy makin’ you feel good, and I’d never want you to feel as though you had to reciprocate.”

 

“But what if I want to?” Waverly asks a little coyly, drawing circles on Nicole’s bare chest, over the swell of her breast. “What if I really want to?”

 

“You do?” Nicole asks, surprised still at the look of hunger in Waverly’s eyes. “And not because…”

 

“Nicole, I’ve been thinkin’ of you from the first time I saw you, but I’ve barely been able to get you off my mind in other ways since I saw you at the baths,” Waverly admits, blushing softly. “And I know I shouldn’t have, and it wasn’t proper, and it might be terribly disrespectful, and I tried so hard not to look, but all I’ve wanted since that moment was to have all of you. To kiss and to touch and… God, everythin’, Nicole. So, yes, I most certainly do want to, and for no other reason than because I want you. More than I think I’ve ever wanted anythin’ before.”

 

“Well, in that case, Waverly Earp,” Nicole replies, and her voice shakes a little, whether in anticipation or simply from being so touched at Waverly’s words. “I am all yours.”

 

“All mine, huh?” Waverly echoes, sliding half on top of Nicole, one of her legs slipping between Nicole’s as she leans up on an elbow to look down at her. “I think I like the sound of that?”  

 

“You do?” Nicole asks, her voice a beautiful mix of hope and desire, her eyes darkening in the same way that Waverly imagines her own are. 

 

“Mhmm,” Waverly murmurs, kissing a path down Nicole’s throat, down, down, down until she can take Nicole’s nipple in her mouth, the moan that leaves Nicole shaking Waverly, too. 

 

She moves to the other breast, lavishing as much attention as she can, trying to emulate what Nicole had done to her, but listening for the reactions Nicole’s body gives her, too, revealing which touches she favours above others, giving Waverly her heading in a way. Her hand gives attention to the breast her mouth cannot, gently squeezing and palming, listening, listening, listening, always listening to Nicole’s body, without prior experience to lean on, until Nicole starts to writhe beneath her. 

 

“More?” Waverly asks, moving up to take Nicole’s lips against her own, pulling away with a nervous expression, excited at the same time, but wary of her own inexperience. 

 

Because, honestly, she’s more than a little worried about not making this as good for Nicole as she had, conscious of the fact that she really doesn’t know what she’s doing, and Nicole has had a number of partners who undoubtedly did. 

 

“Please,” Nicole breathes, sighing after the kiss, her gaze meeting Waverly’s in spite of the thick fog of need Waverly can feel hanging suspended between them. “But only if…”

 

“I want to,” Waverly says clearly, smiling at Nicole in a way that makes her smile so beautifully in return. “Only I don’t know…”

 

“It’s okay,” Nicole returns, breaking through her own haze to reassure her, placing her palm against Waverly’s cheek. “I don’t think there’s a thing you could do that I wouldn’t like, simply because you’re the one touching me, Waverly.”

 

“But I don’t want it to be simply okay,” Waverly says with a gentle smile. “I want it to be…“

 

“It will be,” Nicole offers easily, and Waverly can’t say she has the same assurance of herself that Nicole seems to have, but her confidence gives Waverly some confidence in return. 

 

And Waverly is nothing if not a superb learner, so if she’s determined to learn what Nicole wants, what her body likes, then she will learn it, one way or another. 

 

“You’ll tell me if there’s anythin’ that you don’t like, won’t you?” Waverly asks softly, as her hand begins to move down Nicole’s stomach, pausing to tease a little at the edge of the last item of clothing that she has covering her body. 

 

“Of course I will,” Nicole says, her voice wavering almost imperceptibly, but Waverly hears the hitch regardless, as tuned in to Nicole as she currently is. 

 

And it gives her a drop more confidence, knowing that Nicole wants this as much as she seems to, knowing that Nicole responds as freely to her touch as she does, so there’s nothing left to do then, but to face her anticipation of not being enough head on.

 

Nicole’s breath skips properly when Waverly’s hand slips beneath the band around her waist, over short curls into…

 

“...h, Nicole,” might not be the reaction Nicole had been anticipating, but it’s about all Waverly is capable of, because the first touch is nothing like she had imagined. 

 

Because there’s a heat there, and a desire that Waverly hadn’t been expecting. She thought there might have been a little, or maybe even a lot, but not like this. 

 

Her fingers slip through Nicole so easily, like they’re running over water, and she groans without really meaning to, dropping her head to Nicole’s chest as the sensation floods every inch of her body. 

 

“I’m sorry if—“ Nicole offers, a little nervously above her, but Waverly shuts the uncertainty down immediately, crashing their lips together, sliding her tongue into Nicole’s mouth in a way that she hopes silences Nicole’s worries forever, because good lord, Waverly doesn’t know how she’s ever going to think of anything that isn’t  _ this _ for the rest of her life. 

 

“Don’t you dare apologise, Nicole Haught,” Waverly growls, shaking her head when she draws back. “It’s… god I wasn’t expecting you to be so…”

 

“What? Ready?” Nicole asks with a little smile. “Waverly, I’ve just spent the last hour touchin’ you. How could I not be?” 

 

“I just didn’t think about it,” Waverly says sheepishly, looking to Nicole, her cheeks flushed. “But I understand now, because…god, I can barely think straight feelin’ you like this.”

 

She keeps moving her hand as she speaks, spreading Nicole around gently, watching the way her mouth falls open, or her body jumps when Waverly’s fingers move over certain parts of her, and it’s so immensely satisfying feeling Nicole move and shake and bow for her. 

 

It takes her a little while to find a rhythm, longer than it had taken Nicole, but she tries not to let that dissuade her, she tries to allow it to give her focus instead, to let it guide her, and slowly, slowly, it works. 

 

She thought Nicole Haught was beautiful before, but she has nothing on this creature in front of her. Because Nicole during the day is so controlled and measured and strict with herself, even when she’s only around Waverly, but this Nicole is different. This Nicole is unrestrained, she isn’t tethered to expectation or any other binding force beyond Waverly. She’s lovely, even more so as the movement of Waverly’s hand works her up more and more and more. 

 

Her cheeks are flushed, and her body rolls and bends beneath Waverly’s touch, and Waverly’s not sure if she’s ever experienced anything that feels as significant as Nicole moving for her - because of her - does. 

 

She keeps the pace of her fingers up, well past when the burning in her forearm starts, until Nicole seems to be falling slowly to pieces, answering Waverly’s _ is this…am I doing…  _ with a hurried  _ yes, Waverly, god yes _ , breathing harder and harder, the muscles in her neck straining, and in her biceps tensing where they hold Waverly closer still. 

 

It’s a little more difficult to multi-task than Nicole has made it look, but Waverly concentrates harder, she finds a precision in one movement to allow herself to explore another, dropping her lips to Nicole’s pulse, drawing the skin just against her teeth as Nicole had done to her, and Nicole groans deeper. 

 

“Oh, god, I’m—“ Nicole’s breath catches heavily, and Waverly feels her stomach drop, because Nicole’s close to… she’s close… and Waverly is the one who’s doing this. 

 

She moves her attention to Nicole’s breast, allowing her teeth to scrape ever so gently against the less sensitive flesh, before Nicole’s hands grab for her desperately, pulling Waverly up, kissing her hard and fast, and halfway through, Waverly feels something change. 

 

Nicole goes rigid against her, every muscle beneath Waverly tensed as hard as stone, and then she breaks. 

 

She gasps beautifully against Waverly’s lips, her body rolling, chasing every inch of the sensation from Waverly’s fingertips, drinking her in like she needs Waverly more than the air around her, before she stills finally beneath Waverly’s own quaking bones. Placing one quick kiss to the corner of Nicole’s mouth, Waverly drops her head against Nicole’s chest, blushing a little in the aftermath as Nicole tries to fill her lungs again, breathing heavily beneath her ear. 

 

“Good lord, Waverly,” Nicole says after a moment, and Waverly’s blush deepens, waiting a little nervously for Nicole’s verdict. 

 

“Was that…” Waverly asks shyly, before her nerves get the better of her and she drops her head again. 

 

Nicole shuffles a little, only as far as she needs to be able to look at Waverly with a slightly incredulous expression.

 

“I hope you’re not askin’ me what I think you’re askin’,” Nicole says with a mock-sternness. “Because I’m almost completely disbelievin’ that you’ve never done that before. Waverly, that was… god, I don’t even have the words to express what that was.”

 

“I’ll get better,” Waverly offers quietly, not quite believing Nicole’s compliment, but then she stops, and she takes in the genuineness written all over Nicole’s body and she knows some part of it must be true. “I will, though. I feel like I’ve got a thousand things to learn, but I want to learn them all. If you’ll show me?”

 

“I think Nedley’ll have to come and drag me outta bed himself if you get much better, Miss Earp,” Nicole says, smiling teasingly at Waverly. “Because I’m reluctant enough to ever let either one of us out of this room as it is.”

 

“Are you sure?” Waverly asks, and she doesn’t allow herself time for uncertainty in her daily life, because she can’t afford to, but here, in this quiet other world with Nicole, she allows her insecurities to surface, just a little. 

 

Nicole doesn’t reply with words, though, she replies with her mouth in a different way, kissing Waverly, rolling her onto her back, until she forgets every last worry in its entirety. 

 

“Waverly,” Nicole says softly when they break apart, resting her forehead against Waverly’s own. “I’m not convinced you’re not an illusion, because I’m strugglin’ to reconcile someone bein’ as gorgeous and smart and talented, also bein’ so good at that.”

 

“You mean it?” Waverly asks quietly, feeling her throat thicken at Nicole’s admission. 

 

“I mean it,” Nicole replies, reassurance and comfort heavy in her voice, taking Waverly’s hand and placing it on her chest. “Hand on my heart.”

 

And it almost takes the wind out of her, because Nicole means it, she means it, Waverly can hear and feel how much she means it, and the only thing Waverly can think to do is kiss her. So she does, and this kiss is different still to all the others that have come before it tonight. This kiss is full of light, and it’s full of promise, and Waverly feels the hope of it, too, right down to her toes. 

 

“How are you real?” Waverly whispers to Nicole’s heart when she lays her head down. “How are you here with me?”

 

“Maybe I’m your gift,” Nicole replies sweetly, leaning to look at Waverly properly. “Maybe I’m this darn world’s way of recognisin’ how hard you’ve had it for so long?” 

 

“And maybe I’m yours, too?” Waverly offers, kissing Nicole gently, chastely, before settling back against her, draping herself half over Nicole’s body. 

 

“I think you’re more than a gift, Waverly Earp,” Nicole says as she holds Waverly close to her chest, sighing when their heartbeats fall into sync, before she moves suddenly. 

 

“Is everythin’ alright?” Waverly asks quietly, looking around the room for something amiss, only seeing Oakley fast asleep, nothing else out of place. 

 

“Yes, I’m sorry,” Nicole answers quickly, looking to reassure her. “Everythin’s fine, I’m just… I have a gift I wanted to give you, speakin’ of them.”

 

“I thought we both just agreed you were my gift,” Waverly says a little playfully, smiling at Nicole as she extricates herself from Waverly to stand up. 

 

“I have another gift for you, then,” Nicole replies, and she moves to pull one of the blankets off the bed to cover her bare top half, but Waverly shakes her head gently. 

 

“Don’t… If you feel comfortable enough that is,” Waverly says, quickly adding to her initial suggestion. “I like bein’ able to see you.”

 

“You do?” Nicole asks, blushing a beautiful pink at Waverly’s words, uncrossing her arms a little. 

 

“Of course I do,” Waverly replies, crawling to the edge of the bed, standing up on her knees and reaching for Nicole, who takes a step closer to Waverly, meeting her at the edge. “You’re beautiful. More than. In fact, I don’t know how I’m ever going to survive when you have to put clothes back on. I feel like I could look at you forever.”

 

“The feelin’s mutual, I assure you,” Nicole says a little hungrily, drawing Waverly to her until they meet skin to skin from hip to breast. “On both counts, although, thankfully, I think we’ve got a few hours yet until we need to rest. Which leads me to my gift, actually.”

 

Waverly mourns the loss of her warmth for a moment, watching with amorously heavy eyes as Nicole fetches something that looks like her pocket watch. 

 

“I wanted to give you somethin’ the first time we were together like this,” Nicole begins, taking a seat next to Waverly on the edge of the bed. “If we were ever together like this, not that I ever thought this was a certainty. A dream more like. Anyway, I know it’s nothin’ overly valuable, and you don’t have to accept it, but I wanted you to have somethin’ of mine, so I could be with you, even if I’m not there.”

 

Honestly, she’s touched - no, she’s floored - and she actually doesn’t know what to say, the gesture striking her into silence, so thoroughly that Nicole begins to pull away, worried she might have gone a step too far, too quickly. 

 

“But if it’s ridiculous, or childish, you don’t have to take it, Waverly, of course you don’t,” Nicole manages to get out before Waverly can catch her hand quickly and shake her head. 

 

“Nicole, it’s… it’s not ridiculous at all,” she says softly, trying to express how touched she is with the tone of her voice. “Or childish, it’s…it’s far too much. I don’t think I’m…”

 

“Waverly,” Nicole says quietly, and Waverly’s expecting another joke, but her eyes are a little sad, and Waverly knows it’s not pity, because Nicole would never pity her, but it’s something similar. 

 

A regret, perhaps. That she hasn’t been able to come into Waverly’s life earlier to show her just how valued she is. 

 

“What, are you gonna kiss me again? How will I ever suffer through such a punishment,” Waverly says, trying to lighten the mood just a touch - because she doesn’t want sadness in this bed with them - with as much fake-drama as she can conjure, pretending to swoon before looking to Nicole a little more seriously. “I mean it, though, Nicole. It’s far too much.”

 

“It’s not,” Nicole answers smoothly, placing a hand on Waverly’s hip, her fingers singing against Waverly’s bare skin, drawing her closer. “It’s not, Waverly. I think it’s not enough, in fact.”

 

“I know I’ve given you somethin’ tonight that no one else will ever have, but I know you’ve given me somethin’, too,” Waverly says softly, draping her arms around Nicole’s neck. “And I think I’ll be grateful forever that you shared yourself, too.”

 

“Of course,” Nicole says, softening against Waverly at her words. “I want to share everythin’ with you. And I want you to have this, too. Especially now.”

 

Nicole draws back from Waverly so she can place the silver pocket watch into her palm, and she can’t help smiling when she feels how warm it is from Nicole’s skin. 

 

Waverly was expecting it to be fine, but the detail on the outer case of the pleasantly weighty instrument is beautiful. There’s a light engraving over the outer part of the watch that makes Waverly want to run her finger over the lines, and when she looks up to Nicole, she knows there are tears fresh in her eyes. 

 

“It’s exquisite, Nicole,” Waverly breathes, not equipped with a higher compliment. 

 

“As are you,” Nicole replies smoothly, and Waverly can’t help the fresh blush that spreads over her skin. 

 

“Are you always this romantic?” Waverly asks Nicole, and Nicole takes her own turn to blush at having been caught out. 

 

“Depends,” Nicole answers coyly, tucking a piece of Waverly’s hair away and off her face. “Would you like me to be this romantic?”

 

“I think I would,” Waverly replies a little sheepishly. “I know it’s… I just never thought I’d have this, you know? It’s… I like it.”

 

“Well, in that case, the answer is simple,” Nicole says, her voice easy and effortless, and Waverly feels her stomach swoop and her veins tingle, because this could be love, she knows it could be. 

 

“Are you certain you’d like me to have this?” Waverly asks one last time, her eyes trying to marry all the fine lines on the silver to their origin. “Because this feels like a very precious thing, Nicole, and I’d…”

 

“I’d sincerely like for you to have it,” Nicole offers, and Waverly can see that she means it, that there isn’t any hesitation in her giving this incredibly special thing away. “If you want to.”

 

Waverly takes the small heavy circle in both hands, holding it to her chest, against her heart, feeling the  _ tick, tick, tick _ , against her cooling skin, watching Nicole beam as she does so. 

 

“Then I’ll gladly, gratefully accept,” Waverly says with tear-heavy eyes. “Thank you, Nicole. I think… I like the thought of havin’ you with me, always. I just wish I had somethin’ to give you in return.”

 

“Waverly, the bandana you gave me on my way to the jail for my first day is perhaps the finest gift anyone has ever given me,” Nicole says sweetly, bending to kiss her before smiling a little as she moves back. “Second to the gift you’ve given me tonight, of course.”

 

Nicole weaves a heat into her words that Waverly isn’t expecting, her face glowing and her heart jumping noisily in response, suddenly feeling as though Nicole isn’t close enough. 

 

“Will you tell me about it?” Waverly asks, drawing Nicole to the bed again, biting her lip as she retreats to rest against the headboard, and Nicole follows, crawling towards her like a cat. 

 

“About the watch?” Nicole asks dangerously, her eyes almost black again, and it thrills Waverly to see so clearly how much Nicole wants her. 

 

“Of course,” Waverly answers innocently, and Nicole smiles at the playfulness she can hear in Waverly’s tone. “What else would I be referring to?” 

 

“I don’t know, Miss Earp,” Nicole says, not stopping when she comes to Waverly’s legs, crawling up the length of her body, too. “Nothing bad, surely?” 

 

She lowers her body against Waverly’s, her breasts brushing Waverly’s as she deepens the kiss, both of them supremely out of breath by the time they part. 

 

“You’re distractin’ me,” Waverly says with a good-hearted frown, bumping her forehead against Nicole’s shoulder.  

 

“Says the queen of distraction,” Nicole returns smoothly, and they both smile, breaking the growing physical tension for a moment. “Of course I can tell you about the watch, if you’d like?”

 

“I’d like,” Waverly says, patting the space beside her softly, so they can sit so close that Waverly may as well be in Nicole’s lap again. 

 

“It’s… not an easy story, but I’d like to tell you, if you’re willin’?” Nicole replies with a surprising amount of emotion in her voice, and Waverly feels terrible all at once, moving to assure Nicole as quickly as she can. 

 

“I didn’t mean to bring up anythin’ painful,” Waverly says apologetically, reaching for Nicole’s hand. “You don’t have to tell me anythin’ that’s gonna upset you.” 

 

“No,” Nicole says, shaking her head and looking at their joined hands in Waverly’s lap. “I’d like to, I mean… it’s important for you to know everythin’, and this is kind of the foundation of everythin’.”

 

Waverly gives her a moment to gather herself, watching small waves of pain cross Nicole’s brow, completely perplexed at what it could be that Nicole has to reveal to her. 

 

That it belonged to a past lover, perhaps? One who isn’t alive any longer? 

 

“This belonged to,” Nicole begins, and Waverly holds her breath, almost afraid to hear what Nicole says next, only she needn’t have been, because the truth that Nicole reveals next is  _ nothing _ like she was expecting. “This belonged to my brother.”

 

“Your brother?” Waverly asks, surprised, because other than making reference to him briefly during their first date, Waverly hasn’t heard Nicole make mention of him once. 

 

She hasn’t wanted to bring up Nicole’s family, or to push, because she’s beginning to know Nicole well, and she knows that when Nicole is ready to discuss those matters with her, those difficulties from her past, she will. She waits patiently, giving Nicole the option to speak now if she wants to. If she’s ready. Only if she’s ready.

 

“He’s…” Nicole begins, swallowing heavily before she can continue, taking Waverly’s hand tightly into her own. “He died in the war, when I was a teenager, and this was his. It’s the only thing I have left of his now. My parents have everythin’ else. They wouldn’t permit me to take anythin’ when I left, but he had already given me this, before he went away.”

 

“Nicole, I’m so sorry,” Waverly says with a deep ache in her stomach for the pain she can see so clearly on Nicole’s face, moving closer in the hope that it might offer some small comfort to her. 

 

“It’s okay,” Nicole says calmly, looking to Waverly with slightly glassy eyes, although she has more control over herself now, and Waverly can feel her breathing a little easier. “It was a long time ago, and I’ve mourned him for a number of years.”

 

“I know time doesn’t take away some pain, though,” Waverly offers quietly, threading her fingers between Nicole’s. 

 

“No, it doesn’t,” Nicole replies, pressing a kiss to the top of Waverly’s head gently. “He wanted to be a lawman, you see, once the war was done, and that’s how I came to find my own vocation. He wanted to help people, he loved people, and because of him, I loved people, too. It’s part of why my parents were so angry when I told them I’d taken up a deputy posting, they told me I was sullyin’ his image, wanting to do somethin’ like that, as a woman, in his name.”

 

“But they’re wrong,” Waverly says, taken aback by the regret in Nicole’s voice at the mention of her parents. “It’s honourin’ him, Nicole. I think he would have been so proud of you.”

 

“I think so, too,” Nicole returns softly, bowing her head for a moment. “I think he would’a liked you, too, Waverly. Very much so.”

 

“Do you think he knew?” Waverly asks gently, wanting to show her interest in him, but not wanting to upset Nicole at all. “About you, I mean?” 

 

“I was barely a teenager when he left, but I think he did,” Nicole replies with a smile on her face. “I had a terrible crush on a girl in my Sunday School class. I used to come home and tell him everythin’ I could about her when our folks weren’t around, and he was never awful about my ramblin’, even for a moment. He’d ask me questions and smile, and tease me. I think he would’ve loved me regardless.”

 

“I think he would have, too,” Waverly says kindly, placing a kiss to Nicole’s shoulder gently. “He sounds like a very good person.”

 

“He was,” Nicole returns, smiling a little sadly again. “He was the best.”

 

“Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’re the best. And I think he would have been very proud of you,” Waverly offers, dropping her head to Nicole’s shoulder as her thumb moves over the engraving again. “Are you certain you want me to have this, if it’s the only thing you have…”

 

“I loved him very dearly, but there’s nothin’ in my life more valuable than you, Waverly Earp. So you should keep ahold of the second most valuable,” Nicole says, craning her head to look at Waverly, and the sadness is gone from her eyes now, replaced by something that looks like bliss. “And I know it’s awful quick to be saying somethin’ like that, but—“

 

“I feel the same,” Waverly says quickly, smiling hopefully at Nicole. “I know it’s fast, too, but I feel the same.”

 

“You do?” Nicole asks a little incredulously. 

 

“Of course I do,” Waverly replies, tilting her head and watching as Nicole’s eyes glow in response. “I know it might’ve seemed a little effortless, but what’s happened between us tonight, it’s not somethin’ I did lightly. Or gave lightly. I like you, Nicole Haught. A great deal.”

 

_ I think maybe I already love you, too,  _ hangs thickly in the air between them, Waverly’s teeth biting the words to keep them in her mouth. 

 

And she’s not sure if it’s simply affection for Nicole, because she’s never been intimate with anyone before, and maybe this is just what happens afterwards, but she knows she felt this before, too. She knows she did. 

 

“And that is exactly why I wanted you to have this,” Nicole says softly, closing Waverly’s hands over the watch. “Because I like you a great deal, too.” 

 

“Thank you,” Waverly says, raising her hand to pull Nicole in, her fingers sweeping through the fine hairs at the top of Nicole’s spine as they embrace. “I’ll keep it with me always. I’ll keep you with me always.”

 

“Thank you for wantin’ to,” Nicole says, smiling beautifully, her eyes glassy again when she draws back, but Waverly sees something odd cross her face then, and she can't help but frown in response. 

 

“Is everythin’ alright?” Waverly asks quietly, dropping her hand gently back into her lap, where Nicole finds it a moment later. 

 

“It’s fine,” Nicole says easily, but at the last second, something flashes there again, so Waverly persists. 

 

“If there is somethin’, you know you can ask me, right? Anythin’, always, Nicole,” Waverly questions again, gently, not wanting to push in case she’s wrong, but not wanting Nicole to hold onto something if there’s a thought that is worrying her. 

 

“It’s not a problem,” Nicole says carefully, her mouth turning in a way that says it’s not a simple thing Nicole is holding on to. “It’s more… well, I heard somethin’ in town, and I’m most definitely not one to take on idle gossip, you know that, but it just left me wonderin’ about it, is all.”

 

“What was it?” Waverly asks, her brow wrinkling in concern now, receptive, but a little apprehensive at whatever it is that Nicole might have heard now, too. 

 

“Well…” Nicole begins, before she drops her head, shaking it. “God, this sounds so ridiculous to even be askin’ you, Waverly. I’m sorry.”

 

“If it’s on your mind, it’s not silly,” Waverly says softly, wanting to make Nicole feel like there isn’t ever anything she can’t ask, because Waverly has only ever had people feed her half-truths, and only because they want to protect her, but still, half-truths all the same, and she doesn’t want that with Nicole. “Please?”

 

“Okay, let me preface by sayin’ that whatever the truth is, or whatever you think or say, it doesn’t make a difference to me either which way…” Nicole begins, and Waverly takes a breath in. “But, I overheard someone sayin’ somethin’ earlier about you bein’... well, a witch, if I’m quite honest.”

 

“A witch?” Waverly blurts before she can actually stop herself, and she watches the look on Nicole’s face fall, rushing to reassure her. “No, it’s fine, just... A witch? Really?”

 

“I mean, an accusation like that isn’t overly unheard of,” Nicole says, trying to rationalise, Waverly thinks, why it is that the thought has lingered with her. “And it wouldn’t matter even if there was some truth to it, it’s just…I wanted to know. I want to know if I was defendin’ you in the future, whether I’m defendin’ somethin’ with truth in it, or not.”

 

“You’re sayin’ it wouldn’t matter if I was a witch?” Waverly asks a little incredulously. 

 

“I mean, as long as there wasn’t anything untoward or, you know, evil, that I didn’t know about, then of course it wouldn’t,” Nicole says simply, looking to Waverly with acceptance in her eyes, and it takes everything in her not to laugh at the sheer implication. 

 

“It truly wouldn’t matter?” Waverly asks, tipping her head to the side to look at Nicole curiously. 

 

“No,” Nicole answers simply, and Waverly feels something lift in her chest, because it’s almost exquisite, to find someone so effortlessly devoted and so thoroughly on her side. “That’s why I gave you the watch first, because it doesn’t matter. Because I think I know you, Waverly. You’ve got a good soul, perhaps the best, so it doesn’t matter if you are, or aren’t.”

 

“See, but I think you’re the better,” Waverly says quietly, biting her lip in an attempt to stop her eyes from welling up. “Because what kind of person in this day and age could put an accusation like that aside.”

 

“A daft one, perhaps,” Nicole shrugs, looking to Waverly with a openness that makes Waverly’s heart beat Nicole’s name. 

 

“The best one,” Waverly offers, pressing a kiss to Nicole’s cheek before she takes a breath to set Nicole straight. “But you’ll be pleased to know that I am not _ , _ in fact, a witch.”

 

“You’re not?” Nicole asks so purely, and Waverly knows in that moment that it would truly have been of no consequence to Nicole if she had been. 

 

“Most definitely, not,” Waverly replies easily, shaking her head. “If I were, I might have done a better job of trying to win people in this town over to my side. I guess I can understand how it might look that way to some, the healin’ and such, but there’s no magic, it’s only knowledge.”

 

She pauses then, looking to Nicole, watching as she takes in Waverly’s reply, listening, always listening, and a thought comes to her mind. 

 

“Did you think I might’ve put a spell on you?” Waverly asks, smiling a little playfully. 

 

“Well, I didn’t entertain the thought for long,” Nicole says, trying to justify herself, but Waverly doesn’t mind, not even if she had. “I just… it would explain things some, is all.”

 

“Explain what?” Waverly asks softly, a little more seriously curious now. 

 

“Well, the way I’ve fallen for you so thoroughly, if I’m plain,” Nicole replies shyly, looking to Waverly in an attempt to ascertain whether she’s said too much. “Because it feels…god, Waverly, it feels like I’ve known you for most of my life, not a week. And magic would help explain that a little better than,  _ you’re just fallin’ like a fool. _ ”

 

“Well, if you’re fallin’ like a fool, then I am, too,” Waverly says clearly, and she watches as Nicole just sighs in some great relief. “I don’t think it’s such a bad thing, to be a fool, when you have such good company.”

 

“Just good company?” Nicole asks, her voice playful, and Waverly can feel the air change between them again, the distance crackling like the sky before a thunderstorm. 

 

“Mmmm, maybe a little better than good,” Waverly answers with a hint of coyness in her voice. “But I’m afraid my memory’s failing me. Perhaps you need to remind me.”

 

She watches as Nicole reads the message she’s hoping to express, loud and clear, turning her body around to Waverly in reply, slowly pulling Waverly down so that her back is flat to the mattress again, rather than leaning against the headboard. 

 

“I can’t possibly have you forgettin’ anythin’ like that,” Nicole says teasingly, lowering her lips to Waverly’s, but pulling away at the last second, leaving Waverly wanting. 

 

“No, you can’t,” Waverly almost purrs in reply, her eyes closing with a sigh when she feels Nicole lay her body along her own once more, the warmth of her skin starting to become more and more familiar. 

 

“Perhaps I’ll just have to show you a little more, make certain to solidify the memory,” Nicole offers silkily, kissing a line along the tendon of Waverly’s neck, her hand moving up Waverly’s side, stopping just short of her breasts. 

 

“Show me more?” Waverly asks, the hairs on her arms standing on end as she tries to process what  _ more _ could possibly mean. Because what could be more than what Nicole has already shown her. 

 

Nicole stops her journey down Waverly’s neck to look to her, as if able to read her mind. 

 

“More,” Nicole replies smoothly, her eyes glowing as her hand begins to wander low across Waverly’s stomach.

 

“So much more.”

 

-


	17. seventeen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy WW day, everyone! We made it to another Monday! 
> 
> We're back to Nicole's POV for now. There is a bit of jumping back and forward over the next few chapters between these two but it's all nice and clear so you won't get lost, and it was really important for me to do that so we can get as wide a view of what's happening in all aspects of this story.
> 
> Thank you so much as always to @iamthegaysmurf for her infinite beta and friend skills. 120/10. 
> 
> Onto the fic for now though, sit back and relax and make sure you read that authors note at the end twice, yeah? You can find me on [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigerlo_) if you fancy, too.

**NICOLE'S POV**

 

-

 

Nicole wakes to blissful peace. 

 

A blissful peace, and a pleasant ache in her muscles, and a poem in her head, because she and Waverly had…

 

_Everything_ , she thinks with a slightly hungry smile. They had given one another everything. Heart and body and soul, she had given everything to Waverly, and Waverly had given in return. She can still feel the sensation of Waverly across every inch of her body, singing along the line of her neck, over her chest, at her lips, chased by a blush when the memories start to solidify in her mind as the haze of sleep recedes.

 

Waverly, she thinks, reaching out to the bed beside her, opening her eyes for the first time…

 

…only the bed is cold. 

 

She sits up quickly, looking around the room for any sign of her, perhaps sitting at the desk, waiting for Nicole to wake, but she isn’t there, and the pup is gone, as well. 

 

But she doesn’t panic, because they had discussed last night about needing to find a way to get Waverly back across the road, or even downstairs before Gus and Curtis were awake so it wouldn’t look quite as obvious that they had spent the night together, and perhaps Waverly saw an opportunity. 

 

Nicole looks automatically for her pocket watch, but it’s gone, along with her shirt and Waverly’s jacket, and she smiles at the thought of Waverly choosing to put that on instead of her own clothes, smiling deeper at the thought of Waverly slipping the small silver object carefully into her own pocket. 

 

She glances out the window, trying to ascertain the time. The room is dark enough still that she knows not to panic at having overslept, but not too dark to cause Nicole concern at the thought of Waverly walking across the road alone. The fact that she had taken the watch and her shirt is a good sign, and it helps lessen the blow of Waverly not being here when she had woken up, assuaging the worry that Waverly had run in the light of what had happened between them.

 

She can’t deny that it still hurts a little that Waverly hadn’t woken her before she had left, though. 

 

_ Perhaps she had her reasons _ , Nicole rationalises with herself. Perhaps she left in a slight rush and she’d wanted to leave me sleeping, or perhaps the kiss on her cheek sometime during the night hadn’t been in a dream at all. 

 

_ Perhaps she’s just waiting downstairs for me, and that’s why she hadn’t woken me... she’s just down in the kitchen biding her time until I join her, _ Nicole thinks brightly, swinging her legs out of bed in a sudden rush to make her way downstairs. 

 

She pulls on Waverly’s nightshirt, tucking the ends roughly into her lighter pants so it resembles her normal, more casual attire, completely acceptable to be seen in if anyone else is awake, stopping to breathe in the scent of Waverly, of flowers and softness and something vaguely musky, like sandalwood, before making her way downstairs. 

 

“Good mornin’,” Curtis says brightly when he sees Nicole come down the stairs. 

 

“Mornin’, Curtis,” Nicole says pleasantly, a little surprised to see him up already, and with a very unsettled Oakley in his lap no less. “You’re up early. Is Waverly here?”

 

“No, she’s across the road,” Curtis replies, shaking his head. “Or, I assumed so. Figured she must’ve been doin’ somethin’ nice and early that she didn’t want the pup into, or the customers, like she has before. She’s what woke us up, scratchin’ on our bedroom door, but good lord, I can’t get her to settle, now.”

 

“Are you certain she’s across the road?” Nicole asks, peering out the door of the Inn, not seeing lights glowing in the shop, just as she hadn’t seen any in Waverly’s room upstairs when she’d glanced briefly. 

 

“Well, I thought she musta’ just been in the back where the light doesn’t reach the front windows, but now I’m not so certain,” Curtis says, a deep frown forming on his forehead. “Shall we go and have a look?” 

 

“Was anythin’ amiss when you came downstairs?” Nicole asks Curtis, trying to remain calm and not allow the lack of Waverly’s presence to feed the growing panic in her stomach. 

 

“Not really,” Curtis says, handing Nicole the still squirming Oakley. “Well, the back door was open, but I only assumed that was so Oakley could get out if she needed to?”

 

Nicole walks in the direction Curtis is pointing, her entire body filling with dread, more and more with every step that she takes, until she feels as though she’s made of the substance, the fear deepening when Nicole sets Oakley down at the still open door. 

 

The pup makes her way to one spot on the ground inside the small closed off area, barking as loud as her small body will allow, and Nicole follows, almost numb with terror until her eyes find the dark black smudge on the wood, hand-shaped and sickeningly familiar, and Nicole feels the blood drain from her face. 

 

“Gone,” she chokes out, the breath leaving her body in a rush and the strength going from her legs, forcing her to stabilise herself against the side of the Inn. “Curtis, she’s gone.”

 

“What?” Curtis replies, glancing down to the now whining Oakley, threading herself through Nicole’s legs. “What do you…she can’t be. She’s…”

 

“I don’t think she’s at the shop,” Nicole says, the bile rising in her throat, her hands beginning to shake, because she can’t be gone, she can’t be. 

 

“We should check,” Curtis says, and Nicole can feel him trying to keep himself calm, too, even with a face as pale as Nicole imagines her own to be. “We should be certain, if she’s… we should check.”

 

“Do you have a key?” Nicole asks, smothering the urge to run across the road and break the door down. 

 

“We do,” Curtis returns, already moving towards the front door of the Inn, and Nicole can’t help but be relieved by his urgency. “Do you want to leave the pup here?” 

 

“No,” Nicole answers with a shake of her head, following Curtis out and onto the street. “If Waverly’s there, she’ll know. And if not…”

 

She can’t finish the sentence, she can’t bring herself to say the words, and neither can Curtis, so they say nothing, making for the front door of Waverly’s shop instead. Curtis doesn’t fumble the key, but it still takes him a moment to unlock the main lock and the bolts, just enough for the guilt to begin to sink into Nicole’s heart. 

 

Because if she’d woken up earlier, she might have heard something. If she’d been awake, she never would have let Waverly leave the safety of the Inn without her. She would have stopped her, she could have saved her, she should have done something. 

 

_ Instead, I was busy sleeping, dreaming of her, and now she’s gone. She’s gone, but she can’t be gone. She can’t be. Not after we’ve finally found each other. Not after… _

 

Oakley is into the shop as soon as Curtis gets the door open, running with her nose to the floor, looking for a scent, but Nicole knows what she had suspected when Oakley doesn’t even bother walking up the stairs. 

 

Waverly isn’t here. 

 

“We should check anyway,” Curtis says, making his way up the steps quickly, stopping before walking back down a little slower. 

 

“Nothin’?” Nicole asks, and honestly, it’s a half-relief when he shakes his head, because they could have found… they could have found something much worse than nothing.

She’s about to ask something else of Curtis when she hears a pair of boots behind her, turning, to some significant relief, to see Wynonna and Doc. 

 

“What in the sweet hell is goin’ on here?” Wynonna questions, and Nicole can see the concern clear on her face, glancing between Nicole and Curtis. 

 

“What are you two doin’ here so early?” Curtis asks them both, reaching out to clasp his hand against Doc’s shoulder in relief at his appearance.

 

“Came to make sure everythin’ was alright after yesterday,” Wynonna answers quickly, before turning squarely to Nicole. “Where’s…”

 

She doesn’t have to finish the sentence, nor does Nicole do it for her, she simply takes one look at the ashen expression on Nicole and Curtis’s faces and puts the rest of the pieces together in her head. 

 

“How long?” Doc says quickly, stepping in beside Wynonna, giving her something to lean on as she processes what’s happening before her. “What have you found inside?”

 

“Nothin’,” Curtis affirms, looking to Wynonna and Nicole with an expression of deep sorrow, as though he can feel how much they’re hurting, too. “There’s no sign of anythin’ amiss, though. I don’t think she’s been in here at all since…”

 

“She was with me,” Nicole says a little awkwardly, not wanting to give too much away, but wanting to ensure they all have as much information as possible. “I mean, we talked late last night. She came to see me, and I didn’t think it safe for us to venture outside, so she… she didn’t stay here last night, but…”

 

“It’s alright, Nicole,” Curtis says gently, reaching out to touch her arm, stopping her from having to say anything further. “You don’t have to explain yourself, but you last saw her... when? Early this mornin’?”

 

“Yes,” Nicole replies, nodding, trying not to look as incredibly guilty as she feels, Wynonna’s eyes hot on her, obviously fully cognisant of what really occurred between them. “Early this mornin’, and she was fine, she was just Waverly, and then when I woke up, she was gone. She left the room of her own accord, but not dressed properly. I mean…I think she’d just intended to go outside for Oakley, and come back in, only…”

 

“It’s alright, Nicole,” comes Wynonna's voice, surprising her, because honestly, she’s half expecting to have to defend herself against Waverly’s sister in one way or another, verbally or physically, because Waverly went missing on her watch. 

 

But her words aren’t accusatory or threatening. They’re reassuring. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Nicole says, to the three of them, but looking directly to Wynonna. “I’m so sorry, I should have been—“

 

“It’s not your fault,” Wynonna interrupts her quickly and firmly. “It is not your fault, Haught. Would you blame one of us if Waverly disappeared under our watch?”

 

“Of course not,” Nicole says, shaking her head swiftly, frowning at the implication. 

 

“See,” Wynonna replies simply, shrugging her shoulders. “This isn’t on you. But finding her... that’s on all of us.”

 

And it doesn’t relieve all of her guilt, but it takes a significant amount of the weight off her shoulders, allowing her to breathe more easily, if only for a moment, before Doc speaks. 

 

“Wynonna’s right,” Doc says, stepping in to speak to the four of them. “This most certainly is not your fault, Nicole, but I’m sure you’ll agree that it is more than imperative that we find her now _.” _

 

“Of course,” Nicole says quickly, already stepping through their next movements in her head, trying to turn the calm, process-oriented part of her brain on. 

 

A thought occurs to her then, all of a sudden, and she kicks herself for not thinking of it any earlier. 

 

“You don’t think…I mean, I know there isn’t any connection - that I know of, anyway - between him and the other girls, but…you don’t think Mr. Hardy could’ve had a hand in this, do you? I know it’s extreme, but…he wouldn’t have taken the opportunity to take Waverly while the rest’a us were busy scramblin’ to find the other girls, would he?” Nicole asks, her brow deeply furrowed, looking cautiously between Doc and Wynonna, and it’s not an insinuation she takes lightly - in spite of the fact that she knows they’ll never be anything other than adversaries, but she can’t help but see a potential connection - especially given how violent she knows he can be without provocation, the proof of which Waverly wears on her arm.

 

_ Wears _ , Nicole thinks to herself.  _ Not wore. Not past-tense _ . 

 

“Hardy’s an asshole, that’s for sure, but even I don’t know that he’s capable of somethin’ like that,” Wynonna says, and Nicole doesn’t miss the uncertainty in Wynonna’s voice. “Besides, even if he wanted to, I don’t think the kid’s got the smarts to organise a thing like that.”

 

“He’s capable of more than I woulda’ thought a few days ago, though,” Doc replies, frowning in response to Wynonna. “He’s a menace, but I never thought him capable of hurtin’ Miss Waverly before I saw that bruise on her arm.”

 

“Maybe Nedley can send one of the boys to have a word with him while we’re out lookin’?” Wynonna suggests, shrugging her shoulders. “I’m not sure I’d be able to keep my hands to myself if he says somethin’ even remotely smug.”

 

“I’m of the same mind,” Doc replies with a tight smile. “Unless you think you’ll keep a level head, Miss Haught?”

 

Normally, Nicole would reply that of course she would, she’s not a brute after all, but she’s not so sure even she could keep a calm composure if Champ says something cruel, or stupid. Or both. It’s a difficult call to make, though, because she’d like to be able to question Champ herself, to see the truth of his answer in his eyes, but she trusts the other deputies, and she’d rather her attention be focussed on looking for Waverly directly.

 

“No, I think it’s best of one of the other deputies talks to Champ,” Nicole says, worrying her lip. “They’re more than capable, and we can question him ourselves later if necessary. Sayin’ that,  I think we should head to the jail, meet up with Nedley, and put together a search plan. If you’d like to accompany me? I understand if you want to search yourselves.”

 

“Hell no,” Wynonna replies, shaking her head with a smirk on her face, and Nicole can see it falter, she can see the crack of fear shine through Wynonna’s otherwise flawless front for a moment before she smothers it. “You’re stuck with us, Haught. I meant what I said before. This is on us all, we stick together. We’re not goin’ our seperate ways. The only way we’re gonna find her is if we work together. No lone wolf bull crap, alright?” 

 

“Alright,” Nicole returns, letting Wynonna’s support wash over her for a moment, closing her eyes and calming her heart, breathing in as she opens her eyes. “Together.”

 

“Together,” Doc says with a soft smile, reaching out to touch Nicole’s shoulder. “We’ll find her, I know we’ll find her.”

 

“We’d better,” Wynonna interjects, filling the soft, early morning light with the thought that everyone else is afraid to say. “Because there ain’t an alternative here, folks. Findin’ her is the only option.”

  
  


-

  
  


“She’s what?” Nedley asks, staring at Nicole, Doc, and Wynonna in front of his desk. 

 

“Our Miss Waverly is missin’, Sheriff,” Doc repeats it for Nedley, because neither Wynonna nor Nicole can bear to say the word out loud again. 

 

“Waverly is…” Nedley replies, trailing off as he rubs at his face, as if incapable of taking the meaning of those words on board. “She can’t be.”

 

“She is, sir,” Nicole says, stepping up, ready for whatever reprimand Nedley has for her, because that’s not one person, but two that have gone missing on her watch now, and the Sheriff can’t not be furious at her. 

 

But the reprimand doesn’t come, not even remotely, Instead, they’re given a softer expression than any Nicole has witnessed cross Nedley’s face. 

 

“Are the three of you alright?” he asks softly, looking from Nicole to Wynonna, his face turned in worry. 

 

“We’re alright, Sheriff, we just want to find her,” Wynonna answers for the three of them after glancing to her left and right. 

 

“Of course,” Nedley answers, nodding as he walks around the three of them, clapping Nicole on the shoulder on the way past in reassurance, before coming back to them with a large map that he lays down on his desk. “This is the area, as you two well know, and probably you, too, by now, Haught.” 

 

He continues to run over the map, gesturing to the areas that have already been combed, and the areas that could use another once-over, before turning to Nicole. 

 

“What do you think? Is there anywhere else we should add to the search?” Nedley asks her, and it’s not to put her on the spot, rather he’s giving her control of where they go if there’s somewhere Nicole might think imperative to check in addition to where he has mentioned. 

 

“No, sir,” Nicole replies, shaking her head, running her fingers over the map in front of her as though expecting Waverly’s location to lift off the page in the wake of her touch. “I think that sounds like a good starter. Will we wait for one of the other deputies to arrive to make up our numbers?”

 

“Not enough time,” Nedley says, to Nicole’s surprise, donning his own hat and looking to them all. “I don’t want to waste a second. I’ll take Wynonna with me, if she’ll assent to the company, and you and Doc can go back out to the homestead and start there.”

 

“You’re comin’ with us?” Wynonna asks in surprise, not because he can’t help - because he’s more capable than two of them combined with his experience - but more because, for the most part, he’s remained as the point of liaison. 

 

“If you’re worried about an old man slowin’ you down, then I’ll stay,” Nedley replies, giving control of the decision over to Wynonna. “But I’ve left everythin’ in order for the next deputy to pick up exactly where I left off when he arrives.” 

 

Nicole can’t help but grow her respect of the man exponentially, because he’s giving them the opportunity to control this search as much as he can, because he likely knows how difficult it would be for them to be dissatisfied that they weren’t doing everything they could to find Waverly. 

 

“Hell no,” Wynonna smiles broadly at Nedley, rubbing her hands together. “Pass up an opportunity to go alongside you? Not likely, Sheriff. You’ve got yourself a partner.”

 

“Doc,” Nicole says quietly, turning to him, and she’s not sure what she had intended to say, but it doesn’t matter because he knows. 

 

He reaches for her, putting his hand on her shoulder, and Nicole feels a rush of relief move through her at the gesture, because she’s not alone, because these people assembled around her want to find Waverly just as much as she does, and she thinks, would be prepared to do anything to do so. 

 

“Let’s get movin’,” Nedley says to Wynonna, his voice breaking the moment between Nicole and Doc, and they all start to prepare themselves to leave. 

 

“Would it be a hindrance to stop by the Inn on our way to the stables?” Nicole asks Doc quietly as they’re walking out the door. “I’d like to collect a few things before we leave.”

 

“Of course,” Doc says before they bid farewell to the others, and Nicole doesn’t miss the way Wynonna reaches for Doc’s hand one last time, for comfort or reassurance or what, she’s not sure, but it makes her smile to see Doc raise it to his lips. “We’ll find her, Wynonna. Alive and well, I promise you.”

 

Wynonna doesn’t say anything in reply, she only nods to the both of them grimly before turning back to the Sheriff and following him out onto the Main Street. 

 

Nicole and Doc follow closely behind, walking back down to the Inn so Nicole can change a few items of clothing and retrieve her hat and Waverly’s bandana, her neck feeling so exposed without the small piece of Waverly close to her, stopping to speak to an ashen-faced Gus on their way out. 

 

“What can we do?” Gus asks them both, looking between them desperately, leaning heavily against Curtis for support. 

 

“I know you’re not gonna like it,” Nicole says, anticipating push-back from one or both of them. “But I need you to stay here. In case she comes back, or in case someone has news, or somethin’ else happens. Nedley’s with Wynonna, so we need someone here.”

 

Gus looks to Curtis before nodding in agreement, to Nicole’s complete surprise. 

 

“If that’s what you think is best, Nicole, then that’s what we’ll do,” Gus says softly, nodding, and Nicole is a little taken aback at the respect and trust inherent in Gus’s reply, and her choice not to question anything. 

 

“I do,” Nicole replies, looking to Gus with an expression that she hopes conveys how much that means - her trust - because it’s everything, to be frank. 

 

“You look after each other, alright?” Curtis says a little gruffly, and Nicole knows it’s aimed more towards Doc than her, but they both nod regardless. 

 

“With my life,” Doc replies seriously to Curtis, shaking his hand before Gus surprises them, hugging both Nicole and Doc tightly. 

 

“You bring our girl back, you hear me?” Gus says with a vice grip around Nicole, almost as if she’s scared to let Nicole go, too. “And by Christ, you keep yourself safe while you do it. You’ll break her heart if you don’t come back in one piece.”

 

“I’ll do everythin’ I can,” Nicole says when she draws back from the embrace, squeezing Gus’s hand before she and Doc walk out and onto the Main Street. 

 

There’s a heaviness to the air this morning, buoyed by the rising sun, a tension that wasn’t there yesterday, as if the world itself knows that something is deeply wrong within it, but it provides Nicole a comfort in a way. Because this hadn’t been present any of the previous mornings when the others had gone missing, this feels like a lament for Waverly, and perhaps, if this balance has been disrupted by her disappearance, then somehow something else will work to right that. 

 

But they can’t rely on that, all they can rely on is one another, and that their bond with Waverly is strong enough to draw them to her, along with their other skills. 

 

The walk to the stables is mostly silent, both Doc on his horse and Nicole on foot lost in their own thoughts, and they find Mattie sitting in her chair on the porch, as if waiting for them to appear. 

 

“Who?” is all she says when Nicole and Doc are near enough to hear, her voice serious and her face stern. 

 

“Waverly,” Nicole replies simply, her body bending under the weight of the word when she speaks it. “It’s Waverly.”

 

“No,” Mattie says, shaking her head in disbelief, but she stops after a moment, taking in their body language and the deeply embedded frowns on each of their faces, before sighing and falling backwards into a chair behind her. “It can’t… Waverly?” 

 

“Early this mornin’,” Nicole replies, taking the seat next to Mattie while Doc stands over them both. “I’m not sure when, exactly, but I think it happened while she was takin’ Oakley outside.”

 

Mattie’s eyes turn to her with a hint of curiosity, reading between the lines of Nicole’s words, gathering that they were obviously together before that, far beyond when the both of them should have been locked in and fast asleep. 

 

“What’s the plan then?” Mattie asks her, looking to Doc, too. “I’m all in, just point me in the right direction.”

 

“Head to the jail, and they’ll find you a partner to go out with,” Nicole says, narrowing her eyes at Mattie with the implication that she’s more than aware of Mattie’s inclination to do things alone. “Nedley’s drawn up a search plan for the day, they’ll send you off from there, if you’re willin’ to go.”

 

“Jail it is,” Mattie says, reaching for the gun at her feet and gesturing for the massive dog by her side to stand. “You alright to see yourselves on your way?” 

 

“Of course,” Nicole returns, nodding to Mattie before offering her hand. “Thank you, for offerin’ to—“

 

“Anytime, Deputy,” Mattie says with a surprising softness to her voice. 

 

She grips Nicole’s hand tightly before whistling to her horse, grazing to the side of the house, climbing up and bidding the two of them luck. Nicole looks to Doc, who nods in return, and at that, the two of them make their way to the stables. 

 

“She truly is a beautiful mare,” Doc says in admiration of Lady Jane as Nicole leads her out of her stall. 

 

“In more ways than one, aren’t you, Lady Jane?” Nicole says to the horse softly, leaning her forehead against the animal, trying to draw some impossible calm from her old friend. 

 

“Does she ride well, too?” Doc asks curiously, and it’s more than welcome, the distraction, part intentional and part out of pure curiosity, if the look on Doc’s face is anything to go by. 

 

“Like a fine breeze,” Nicole replies with a smile, throwing the saddle over Lady Jane’s back, offering the horse one of the treats Mattie had left inside the stable for them. “And an excellent ear for danger, too, normally, although I can’t make sense of why she didn’t pick up on anythin’ when we were out at the homestead.”

 

“That place has always been different for animals. Even our horses barely make a noise while they’re on that land,” Doc responds with a frown, and Nicole can’t help but note the curiosity herself. “Perhaps it’s that same oddness that affects her there, too.”

 

“Perhaps,” Nicole replies a little distantly, trying to divine some reason for it in her head, coming up with nothing, because it truly doesn’t make sense. There isn’t any earthly way to explain why the animals seem to act differently, but she’s seen it with her own eyes, so she knows the truth in it. 

 

She checks Lady Jane over carefully after the last few days of hard riding, before stepping away, happy with the state of her, looking to Doc once more as she climbs up into the saddle. 

 

“You set the pace,” Doc says to Nicole as they lead the horses out onto the road in the direction of the homestead before Nicole urges Lady Jane into a good gallop. 

 

They won’t be able to sustain the speed if she wants to keep Lady Jane out for most of the day, but it’s a release, riding harder and harder with the wind blowing through her hair and into her chest, until the horse reaches her peak. 

 

Doc catches up to her, nudging his horse into a quicker pace, and Nicole bends low, whispers  _ faster _ to Lady Jane, and she pushes a little further, easily outstripping Doc and his stallion. She relishes the thundering of the horse’s hooves that travel up her arms through the reins, she centres her focus on the impact that shakes her joints and forces her to concentrate on something else beyond her own guilt, because it’s relentless otherwise. 

 

_ Waverly is gone _ beats in time with her heart, thumping through her frame like a punishment, and it’s fit to drown her, but Lady Jane calms her some, the noise and the rhythm and the sensation brought by the body between her thighs bringing her head above water so she can gasp for air. 

 

She slows them both after she reaches a reasonable distance ahead, bringing Lady Jane to a more reasonable gait as both she and the horse catch their breaths. 

 

“Jesus wept,” Doc says, pulling up alongside her, panting a little himself. “She is quick, Nicole. And Christ, you can ride, too.”

 

“It’s easy when you spend every day up here,” Nicole replies modestly, reaching down to stroke her horse’s neck as she looks to Doc. 

 

“It’s more than simple ridin’ with that animal,” Doc says, gesturing towards Lady Jane. “You’ve got an uncommon bond with her.” 

 

“Most of the time, I’m not certain she’s simply that,” Nicole admits, and it feels ridiculous to say, but often she feels as if Lady Jane has an understanding of her and an intelligence that far surpasses anything she’s seen in any animal before. 

 

They don’t say anything for a while as they settle into the new pace, Nicole losing herself deep in her head, until the archway of the homestead comes into view, and Doc turns to her with a particularly serious look on his face. 

 

“Nicole, what you made reference to before, with Wynonna present,” he says slowly, and Nicole knows exactly what he’s making mention to, her apologising for Waverly going missing on her watch. 

 

She turns to him, unsure of what to expect, her breath stopping when she sees his expression change, softening considerably. 

 

“I know exactly what’s runnin’ through your mind right now, I know you’re blamin’ yourself, but I need you to understand for me that it isn’t your fault,” he says gently, and Nicole’s shoulders stay straight and upright for exactly five seconds before she folds over. 

 

“How did you…” she manages to utter, trailing off as her eyes find Waverly’s family land, her mind turning, churning, tumbling, wondering if Waverly is here, or somewhere else entirely. 

 

“Because it’s exactly what I would be thinkin’ if Wynonna were the one missin’ and not Waverly,” he says simply, his eyes heavy with sympathy. “But you need to hammer into that quick brain of yours that this isn’t your fault.”

 

“You keep sayin’ that,” Nicole replies, her voice quiet, making eye contact briefly before looking away. “But it is my fault, Doc. It is. It’s no one’s fault but mine.”

 

“And tell me kindly just how you figure that, will you?” Doc returns with a soft look over at her. 

 

“She was there for me,” Nicole says quietly, trying to fight the anger and frustration bubbling within her chest for a moment to allow herself room to speak. “She was at the Inn because of me. Because she was worried about me. If she had been home, at the shop, Oakley might have been more settled, she might not have had to leave to go outside. Or, if she had, she would have been in a different place. Not there, not where she had been…”

 

“Nicole, my dear, I still struggle to place just how any of this is your fault,” Doc replies gently, his face earnest. “Waverly, as you well know, is a grown woman capable of making her own decisions, and if she had made the decision to come to you, then nothing, not hell nor high water, would have stopped that. And unless you can control the outhouse habits of animals, I cannot find the fault with you.” 

 

“But she could have woken me up,” Nicole says, trying to parry each one of his arguments with one of her failings, but he has a response to every one, obviously bent on absolving her of her guilt. 

 

“You failing to rouse from sleep following what I’m sure was both an emotional and physically draining evenin’ is not on you, and again I say that it was Waverly’s choice not to do so,” Doc replies calmly, his voice soothing, but not quite soothing enough to quell her worries completely. “It was not your fault.”

 

She’s out of arguments. She’s out of replies. Beyond one thing, beyond one final blow that she knows he will not have an answer to. 

 

“Would you feel that way if it were Wynonna missin’ and you were in my position?” Nicole asks, and his voice quiets in his throat immediately. “Would you feel the same? Would you rid yourself of guilt? Or would you punish yourself exactly the same?”

 

He’s silent for a minute, and Nicole thinks she may have overrun his return argument entirely, that she might have finally made him see her reason, until he looks to her with soft, sad eyes and speaks one final time as they pass under the archway to the Earp property. 

 

“Tell me, then, darlin’. If our roles were reversed and we were one another, would you blame me? If I had allowed Wynonna to be taken through my inaction? Or would you be doin’ the very thing I am trying to do right now?” 

  
  


-

  
  
  


They don’t find anything. Not a single thing. 

 

Not one trace of either Waverly, or the person or persons who had left the body for Wynonna and Doc to find the day before. 

 

They comb the entire surrounds of the property, and the homestead, and the barn, and they find nothing. Not a hint of a black smudge or anything that resembles a footprint or boot mark. 

 

Nothing. 

 

Nicole doesn’t think she’s ever been so disheartened in her entire life as she is when they finally decide to move on to the next property to begin searching that one, too, because some part of her had been sure that Waverly’s home - well, the place her family called home, anyway - would herald some clue or sign or signal or something. 

 

Something to give them a heading or direction.

 

But there’s nothing. 

 

They find the same at the next property, and the location after, and Nicole begins to wonder if they really are chasing a ghost or some evil they cannot wrap their hands around or aim their guns towards. 

 

She and Doc stay out until the sun fails them and any light they would have had to see a clue or sign disappears, riding straight back to the jail after the sun has set. Nicole would have stayed, she would have kept searching, but Doc had ordered that they both rest with a deeply concerned frown. 

 

Nicole doesn’t say the thing between her teeth, that they can’t give up, because giving up empty- handed means that they leave Waverly to the darkness and the mercy of her captors, because Doc already knows that. 

 

He knows and she knows and it’s the same thing on everyone else’s minds when they walk into the jail well after the sun has gone down, the defeat in their shoulders the same defeat reflected on everyone else’s face.

 

“Nothin’?” Wynonna asks desperately, moving for them both the second they walk through the door, and Nicole can see the disappointment, but the relief, too, in not having found anything worse.  

 

“Nothin’,” Nicole says in affirmation, the room breathing in reply, deeply relieved. “And now the damn sky’s too dark to see anythin’.”

 

“You need to rest,” Nedley says, walking over to her, placing his hand on her shoulder in an act of sympathy, or reassurance, she isn’t sure, but it’s unmistakably paternal in nature, and it’s enough to make Nicole’s throat tighten. “We all need to rest.”

 

“Nobody found anythin’?” Nicole asks, looking around the room, her eyes moving over the deputies and a few others assembled before her. 

 

“Nothin’,” Nedley says softly, looking her dead in the eye. “And I think Wynonna and I rode across almost every inch of that map today. But that doesn’t mean we won’t, Nicole. It just means we won’t tonight _.” _

 

She doesn’t say aloud the thought that’s making her feel sick to her stomach: what if waiting the night is the difference between finding Waverly alive and…not. 

 

But he’s right, they can’t keep looking, primarily because it’s so dark outside she can barely see a thing, but also because she’s so exhausted, she’s not sure how she’s still upright. It’s taken its toll, being terrified all day that she’s going to turn a corner and find Waverly, but not the way she wants so desperately to find her. It’s shredded her nerves to pieces and it’s fatigued her heart beyond a point she thought possible. 

 

She collapses into the nearest chair and feels Wynonna and Doc move behind her, to stand at her back, and their presence gives her enough strength to breathe. It’s an enormous reassurance, the simple fact that she’s still not alone. 

 

That the others still have hope, too. 

 

“Get some rest, Haught. Everyone else, too,” Nedley says to the room at large. “We’ll assemble before first light in the mornin’ and start searchin’ again.”

 

A few other townspeople, the ones looking for the other missing girls, nod in agreement before they file out of the jail slowly, and the only people left are the ones Nicole is beginning to think of as family. 

 

She’s surprised by a sight she hadn’t noticed earlier once the room clears, of Chrissy curled up in the corner on a pile of blankets someone had obviously laid down for her, stirring from sleep by the noise of the mass exodus. Her eyes blink a few times as she comes to herself, recognising who the people remaining are, and she takes one look at Nicole before bursting into tears. 

 

Nicole moves to comfort her automatically, but Chrissy is already walking towards her, throwing her arms around Nicole unceremoniously the second she’s close enough to do so. 

 

“She can’t be gone,” Chrissy cries into her chest, and Nicole can feel the tears wetting her skin through her shirt,  _ Waverly’s _ shirt she corrects herself. “She’s Waverly, she can’t be gone, she just can’t be.”

 

“It’s okay, Chrissy,” Nicole says softly with a confidence that’s beginning to fail. “It’s okay. We’re gonna find her, okay? We’re gonna find her alive and well, I promise.”

 

She glances up as her hands move over Chrissy’s back reassuringly, her eyes meeting the others watching her interaction, and they look about as broken as Nicole feels, her chest being pummelled with blow after blow of  _ Waverly’s alone, Waverly’s alone, Waverly’s alone in the dark.  _

 

“We’ll stay here the night,” Nedley says to them all. “There’s a cot in the back. I think it’s best if there's someone here, just in case.”

 

“I can stay, sir,” Nicole offers when Chrissy moves back from the embrace, her hand still tightly closed in Nicole’s. “You can go home and get some rest. I can stay.”

 

“I want you to get some rest, Nicole,” Nedley says softly, his voice almost pleading with her. “I need you ready for another big day tomorrow, alright? I need you to have the energy this old man won’t have.”

 

He knows she won’t challenge a direct order, not one like that anyway, so she acquiesces, nodding her head in acceptance of his request. 

 

“You’ll come back in the mornin’?” Chrissy asks softly, wiping at her eyes as she moves back towards her father. 

 

“Before you’re even awake,” Nicole says, winking to her, and it lightens her heart a little when Chrissy smiles in reply. 

 

“I think we’ll head back out to the homestead for the night,” Wynonna announces to the room, but looking to Nicole directly. “Just in case… well, just in case.”

 

“Ride safe, alright?” Nedley says to her and Doc, before turning to Doc specifically. “Don’t let her out of your sight, you hear me, man? I won’t go to Gus and tell her another one of her girls are gone.”

 

“Of course, sir,” Doc replies easily, nodding towards Nedley before addressing Nicole. “Let us all walk down to the Inn together. I’m certain Gus would like to see Wynonna before we retire.”

 

Nicole looks to Nedley, as if looking for an okay to leave, that he doesn’t need her for anything, and he nods softly, so she stands to join Doc and Wynonna, and they make their way out and onto the Main Street. 

 

_ The darkness is different tonight, _ Nicole notices. It’s less intrusive and suffocating, and more taunting instead. As if it knows exactly where Waverly is within its shadows, and it’s set on not revealing that to any poor soul looking. 

 

They make their way to the Inn in silence, all three with their hands poised just over their weapons, ready to react instantly, but nothing makes its way to them. Nothing breaks the tender silence, save the sound of their own footfalls. 

 

Gus and Curtis are waiting for them at the front desk, Gus moving away from Curtis’s side to pull Wynonna, and then Nicole, into a crushing hug before Oakley comes rushing to her feet, too. 

 

“Nothin’?” Gus asks, her voice strained and rough as she looks quickly between the two of them. 

 

“Nothin’,” Nicole says, her breath leaving her body in a rush, bending down to draw Oakley into her arms. “We’ll resume at first light, but…”

 

“You need rest,” Gus finishes for her, smiling a little at the sight of Oakley leaning her head against Nicole’s chest. “And it’s too darn dark outside, anyway. You can barely see your hand in front of your face with the new moon tomorrow. Besides, this one missed you, I think.”

 

“I missed her as well,” Nicole replies, feeling tears prick at the corner of her eyes as she holds Oakley close with the strange mix of feeling comforted to have Oakley so near, but overwhelmed with the memory of Waverly, too. 

 

Wynonna takes a step closer to Nicole, allowing Oakley to sniff her outstretched hand and patting her gently, as if looking for some comfort in the animal, too, before looking up to Nicole. 

 

“If anyone’s the prayin’ type, now would be the night to do so,” Wynonna says a little cynically, moving back towards Doc. 

 

“I think I might stay over at the shop, if no one objects,” Nicole announces to them all, and she watches Wynonna nod in agreement. “I’ll collect some of my things and spend the night there, just…”

 

“I think it’s a good idea,” Wynonna agrees, closing off the thought for her, smiling a rare, soft smile to Nicole, and in that moment, Nicole sees not  _ the _ Wynonna Earp, but Wynonna, Waverly’s frightened big sister.

 

Because Wynonna is scared - maybe as much as Nicole is herself, maybe more so - and it almost overwhelms her. 

 

“Do you want to take the pup?” Gus asks her, watching her interaction with Wynonna. “She can stay with us if she’s gonna be a bother.”

 

“No,” Nicole replies, shaking her head and smiling gently to Gus as she feels Oakley go slack in her arms, asleep. “No, I think she might be more settled over the road. And I wouldn’t mind the company.”

 

“You’ll be alright over there?” Curtis asks her with a concerned frown, but Nicole nods. 

 

“I’ll be fine,” Nicole says in return, warming a little at their concern. “I’ll have Doc and Wynonna lock me in, and I won’t leave for anythin’ until the night is over, unless Waverly herself is banging down the door.”

 

She hands Oakley off to Gus for a moment, excusing herself to run up to her room, collect her full deputy gear, including her badge, before making her way back downstairs with her satchel packed full. 

 

“Ready when you are,” Wynonna says to her, trying to smother a yawn, so Nicole nods a goodnight to Gus and Curtis before they begin to make their way across the road with the key Curtis had pressed into Nicole’s hand. 

 

Doc opens the door for her, stepping inside and making his way through the bottom of the shop, and then the top, before returning, announcing its emptiness. 

 

“Thank you, Doc,” she says simply, the fatigue stretching out in her limbs making her feel weak, even though she knows she won’t sleep a wink tonight. 

 

“Any time,” he replies softly, drawing her into an embrace around the sleeping Oakley in her arms, before stepping back and allowing Wynonna to move into the space next. 

 

“I know you won’t, but at least try and get some sleep, will you?” Wynonna asks of her before pulling Nicole into another embrace, fiercer than Doc’s, but almost more meaningful for it. 

 

“I will if you will,” Nicole replies with a smile, and Wynonna can’t help but grin in return. “Ride safe, alright? I’ll meet you at the jail in the mornin’, or at the Inn if you’re inclined to come this way first.”

 

“We will, Miss Haught. Goodnight,” Doc says finally, inclining his head before the two of them step out of the shop and wait for Nicole to bolt the door, walking away into the darkness. 

 

And then it’s just her. Her and the darkness and the small, reassuringly warm body against her chest. And the silence and space beside her that Waverly should be inhabiting. 

 

Oakley doesn’t seem inclined to leave the comfort of her arms, so she doesn’t set the pup down just yet, walking the length of the shop still carrying her. It feels so strange being in here without Waverly. The shelves feel empty even though they’re full, because the light that fills them, the light brought by Waverly, isn’t here. 

 

The magic is gone, the soul is gone, the light is gone, because Waverly is, too. 

 

But she’s not  _ gone _ , gone, Nicole reprimands herself. She can’t be gone, gone, she just can’t.

 

She walks the length of the shop a few times, memorising the number of footsteps she takes before she makes her way upstairs. 

 

If she thought it was hard being downstairs, being upstairs is so much worse because Waverly is everywhere here, in every inch of the room. 

 

It’s the pristineness of the room that makes Nicole feel like her blood has been traded for ice, because it looks perfect, as if Waverly were simply downstairs, having run down to collect something she had forgotten, instead of gone. 

 

The room looks perfect, eerily so, as if Waverly might reappear at any second. But Nicole knows she won’t. She’s not sure how she knows, but she does. She knows that Waverly won’t come to them, that they will have to find her, because if she could come back to them, she would already be here, and the fact that she’s not tells Nicole that she  _ can’t _ . 

 

She walks Oakley over to the bed, placing her carefully on the blanket Waverly must have folded up for her there, smiling when the pup burrows into the familiar scent. 

 

Waverly must have been completely settled in for the night before she had made her way across the road last night, Nicole thinks, walking around the room, noting the way everything is put away and tidied, the blanket of the bed the only thing out of place, turned out, as if thrown off by Waverly in haste. 

 

She rights the bedding before walking over to the still clean bowl of washing water, deciding that if she doesn’t think she’s going to sleep, she should at least wash and tidy herself ahead of the morning. It’s not a hot bath, but it’ll have to do, so Nicole strips down to her underthings before cleaning the dirt of the day off her skin, the small bar of soap next to the bowl providing Nicole the ability to do so as thoroughly as possible before drying herself off. 

 

She pulls on a clean undershirt and over shirt, leaving her vest off for the time being, tying Waverly’s bandana around her wrist instead of her neck, trying not to let the memory of Waverly kissing the inside of her wrist overwhelm her. 

 

Being a little cleaner makes her feel more settled, and she walks over to Waverly’s bed, to Waverly’s side of the bed, and a thought comes to her like a dam breaking. 

 

What if she doesn’t ever spend the night here again. What if Nicole never has the chance to sleep in this bed with Waverly, what if they never have a chance to…

 

_ No _ , Nicole says to herself sternly.  _ No. You can’t think like that. You just can’t. She’s coming back, she has to be coming back. There isn’t another option but that.  _

 

The room smells like Waverly, but it doesn’t feel like her, not completely, because Waverly is the heart of everything, she’s the warmth, and things without her are just things - a room is just a room, a bed is just a bed, and Nicole feels like half of a whole. 

 

She lies down on the bed, almost fully clothed, save her boots and vest, closing her eyes and willing sleep, some tiny fragment of sleep, some relief to come to her, but it doesn’t, of course it doesn’t. 

 

She just lies in Waverly’s bed with the fading light of Waverly slowly receding from the room around her, waiting for the sun to rise. 

  
  


-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's at this point that I want to remind everyone that this fic has a happy ending. Let's keep that in mind and not come for the tired author with pitchforks. Cool? Cool.


	18. eighteen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy WW Monday everyone!
> 
> We're back to Waverly for the chapter today, I mentioned last week that we would jump around a bit, but I think it's important to find out how Wave found herself in her current predicament. Also, the majority of this chapter actually jumps back a wee bit in time to their night before, so exercise discretion over where you read this... if you know what I mean....
> 
> A massive, enormous thank you to @iamthegaysmurf as always for her 10/10 friendship and 12/10 beta skills. Thank you too for all the amazing wonderful comments that I have yet to reply to. Head on over to [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigerlo_) if you have any questions or anything x

 

**WAVERLY'S POV**

 

-

  
  


The bonds are tight around Waverly’s wrists, pinching at what is now tender flesh. Far too tight for her to be able to move within, let alone escape from. 

 

She’s bound and cold, freezing in the dark in only her coat and Nicole’s shirt, and she’s not exactly sure where she is, only that it’s pitch black, so much so that she can’t actually see her hands in front of her to know whether the bonds have worn through her skin or if it just feels like they have. 

 

And she’s scared. She’s very, very scared.

 

She knows her captors aren’t far away.  _ Captors _ . Two of them - a man and a woman, both of fine speech - who come with the light, and go with it, too, leaving Waverly shivering in the darkness between their appearances. They leave her here like this for the most part, listening for the smallest noise in the suffocating black that might herald someone coming for her. 

 

Of Nicole coming for her. 

 

Her chest aches like her captors had landed a blow there instead of to the back of her head when she thinks of Nicole. Of how confused she must have been to have woken up alone. Of how worried she must be now. 

 

Because she won’t be angry. Waverly knows this. Nicole would never be angry at her. Even though this is all her fault. 

 

_ God, _ Waverly thinks for the hundredth time,  _ she’s going to blame herself for not being with me. She’s going to blame herself for everything. If she doesn’t think I ran away from her, that I ran away from us. From what we did together. _

 

She doesn’t have time to fully complete the thought, though, because she sees a flicker of light in the far, cold distance, and her whole body tenses, as though waiting for pain.

 

Because they’re coming back. 

 

She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t panicking beyond terror every time they come to her, because she knows what will happen to her if the others - if Nicole - doesn’t make it in time. They’re going to kill her. Probably tied, and blind in the dark without any help in sight, they’re going to  _ kill _ her. Maybe it’s better that way though, not to have Nicole or Wynonna or Doc close. It’s far better for them to miss that, to find her body instead of coming across her murder and not being able to do a damn thing. 

 

“Ah, she’s awake,” comes one of the voices in the darkness. The woman. 

 

“It’s about time,” the male voice says, a little exasperated. “You didn’t have to strike her that hard, you know.”

 

“She’s a fighter. You’ve seen her. I didn’t want her to struggle and risk waking anyone else,” the female voice replies, closer now, almost within sight, and Waverly feels a shiver ripple down her back in defiance, because yes, she is a fighter. 

 

Because she’s an Earp _ , _ and God’ll be damned if she doesn’t go down struggling as hard as she can when the time comes. She isn’t going to make this easy for them. She’s going to make it clear to anyone who finds her that she struggled until the end. 

 

“You’re scared,” the woman says when she finally comes into Waverly’s view. 

 

“I’m tied in the dark, freezing, kidnapped by two complete strangers,” Waverly deadpans in spite of the danger of her current situation. “Of course I’m scared.”

 

“Good, it’ll be better if there’s fear in you,” the male voice says, before the female voice cuts over his quickly. 

 

“True. But don’t worry, Waverly Earp. You’re safe for tonight at least. The moon isn’t dark enough yet,” she says, as Waverly’s head spins, because what does that mean. 

 

The moon, like they’re…

 

“Who are you?” Waverly demands with a bite in her voice. “Who are you that you think you can come here and destroy so many lives? I don’t understand, I’ve never even seen you before, but you know my name?”

 

“Darling, we’re not from around here,” the woman answers, her voice silky and soft, and Waverly can tell by the lack of inflection that she’s right, they’re not. 

 

She can’t quite place the speech. She thinks it sounds a little like the travelers they had through a few years ago, the accent vaguely British, but there’s more in there, too. The remnants of what sound like a loose handful of other accents, as well. 

 

“How do you know me?” Waverly asks, frowning in confusion at the two faces that flicker in the torch light. “Why am I here?”

 

They’re both young, Waverly notes with the dim light around them, which confuses her immensely, because what on earth are two young people doing murdering young girls and women. Waverly doesn’t think they’re a good deal older than her, either, perhaps closer to her sister’s age, or Nicole’s. 

 

“We know everyone in this town,” the young man replies smoothly. “Well, everyone we’re concerned with anyway.”

 

“As to why you’re here, that’s simple,” the woman says, picking up on his thread seamlessly, almost as if they had done this, had answered this question, a thousand times. “You’re one of the ones we are concerned with.”

 

“And what, pray tell, makes me concernable?” Waverly asks patiently, not wanting to stir them to anger in this moment, keen to get as much information out of them as she can while they’re still here. 

 

“You’re a virgin,” the woman replies simply, without concern in the world at revealing this crucial detail, which tells Waverly that they’re not remotely afraid of being found. 

 

That they’re confident that Waverly is never going to escape them. 

 

“A virgin,” Waverly echoes, a little flummoxed, because her life hangs in the balance of something that is no longer true, because that might make her useless to them now. “But I’m not…”

 

“A virgin?” the young man asks, his head snapping to her quickly, his face lined with anger. “You must be. You haven’t been alone with that fool Hardy since he hurt you. You’ve only been with the new deputy.”

 

“That’s who I gave myself to,” Waverly replies, lifting her chin to him, refusing to bend under his anger. “What a shame for you both. I’m not the thing you seem to need me to be.”

 

“A woman?” he laughs a little derisively, raising an eyebrow in amusement. “You can’t give anything to a woman, silly girl. You’re pure in all the ways we need.”

 

“I don’t know, brother,” the woman says, looking between Waverly and the young man with concern written on her brow. “Perhaps it’s better we choose another.”

 

“Have you lain with a man?” he asks Waverly with a snap to his voice, moving towards her just enough to make her want to flinch in response.

 

“No,” Waverly says clearly, defiantly, meeting both of their eyes. “But I’ve given myself to Nicole in every way that counts.”

 

“No man,” he offers to his sister, his voice impatient. “You know it doesn’t count if they haven’t lain with a man, sister. Remember the handmaiden in New England? We had no problem with using her.”

 

“If you insist,” the woman replies, eyeing Waverly warily before turning to her brother. “This is on you if it doesn’t work, Herman.”

 

“I’m certain you’ll be quick enough to remind me of that again if need be, Hetty,” he replies dryly, before turning back to Waverly. “You’ll die either way, Waverly. You’d better hope it wasn’t in vain.”

 

They leave her in a state of shock then, not only because she’s going to die, without - if they are to be believed - any chance of rescue, but because it will be for nothing. She knows the night with Nicole meant something, she knows it changes something, the glow on her skin from Nicole’s kisses and the occasional dull ache between her thighs proof of that. Because she was with Nicole in every way she could be. 

 

She knows she’s going to be useless to the young man and woman who have her captive. Her death is going to be completely wasted, because there is no way the others will find her here, wherever this pitch darkness is that holds her against her will. A mine, perhaps, from the smell she thinks might be coal and soot, but it’s too dark to see, even when they were here with the torch. 

 

She’s tried screaming, but it doesn’t do any good, her rough throat and lack of help proof of that. She’s tried crying, but that doesn’t do any good, either. 

 

Waverly closes her eyes because that helps, she has found. That way she can pretend that the darkness around her is of her own making, that she only has her eyes closed, not that she’s surrounded by an ever-dwindling lack of hope and nothing else. She closes her eyes and she carefully dips her bound hands into the pocket of her coat, to the cool, but warming metal of the pocket watch that Nicole had gifted her, after she had taken Waverly to her bed, but before she had given her everything. 

 

She had stripped herself bare and given herself to Waverly, and they had come together again, and again, until they were both changed for it. 

 

With her eyes closed, it’s easy to call the memories of Nicole back to her body, it’s easy to take herself back to Nicole’s bed after she had given Waverly the watch, after she had lain Waverly on her back once again, after she had shown her everything…

  
  


-

  
  
  


“...More,” Nicole replies smoothly, her eyes glowing as her hand begins to wander low across Waverly’s stomach, and her heart beats quicker and quicker against Nicole’s chest.

 

“So much more.”

 

She feels a shiver ripple through her whole body as Nicole lays her back against the bed, settling over her body, and she pushes up against Nicole, seeking the comfort from the warmth she now knows Nicole’s body provides. 

 

“How is it possible that I want this again already?” Waverly asks a little breathlessly as Nicole nudges her head to the side so she can take the pulse in Waverly’s neck gently between her teeth. “That I crave this already, when we’ve only just stopped?”

 

“Well, I know why I do. You’re beautiful, Waverly,” Nicole replies, and Waverly can feel her smile against her skin. 

 

“And you think you’re not?” Waverly breathes, arching up into Nicole when she sucks lightly, the blood vessels threatening to give way beneath Nicole’s attention. “God, Nicole, I want you so badly I don’t know what to do with myself.” 

 

“You don’t have to do anything, for now,” Nicole purrs, making her way back up to Waverly’s lips, her eyes hungry again. 

 

“Nicole,” she manages to utter a little roughly, knowing that if she doesn’t ask now, that she’s going to fast lose the ability to voice anything more complicated than an affirmation or a moan. 

 

“What is it?” Nicole asks quickly, drawing back to look her in the eye, ceasing her movement immediately. “Is everythin’ alright?”

 

“Everythin’s fine,” Waverly answers, her voice soothing and her hands reaching out to stop Nicole from moving any further away, sliding around her neck. “Everythin’s more than fine, in fact, I just…I want to ask you somethin’.”

 

“Anythin’,” Nicole says with a soft, open expression on her face. “You can ask me anythin’, Waverly. Always.”

 

“We spoke before about…” Waverly begins, and she knows what it is she wants to ask Nicole, she’s just not certain whether it’s something Nicole will want to do so soon into their intimate relationship together, or whether it’s something she wants to wait for, until Waverly’s a little less new to all this. 

 

“About what?” Nicole replies gently, her head tilted a little curiously down to Waverly as she listens. 

 

She’s tempted to leave it be, because it’s not an easy thing to ask for, but a small and growing part of her is leading her to, regardless. Because it’s important, she realises. It’s important for her to able to give herself to Nicole in every way that she would if she were with a man. It’s important for her that this experience be whole in that sense, not that she anticipates needing that every time, but the first…the first is different. 

 

“About Wynonna tellin’ me about a woman’s duty in the bedroom, and what that entailed exactly, and I know it’s not my duty, and I know it’ll be a little different without…” Waverly trails off momentarily, aware that her face is flushing a deep red. “Well, without one rather obvious component, but I think it’s probably still something that women who enjoy the company of other women do…”

 

“It is, but…” Nicole begins before looking to Waverly with a frown. “But I don’t want to you think we have to, Waverly. Now or ever. Because we absolutely don’t. Not if you don’t want to. Some women that I’ve… been with…prefer not to at all, in fact.”

 

“But what if I do want that?” Waverly asks quietly. “What if I want to feel that with you? Would you… I mean… do you want that, too?”

 

“It’s somethin’ you want?” Nicole asks her clearly, and her patience is shining through, but Waverly thinks she can see something like anticipation - or light - in her eyes, too. 

 

“It is,” Waverly nods a little nervously, biting her lip. “I mean, Wynonna said it was bound to be uncomfortable. She was a little less delicate than that, in fact, but I don’t think it’ll be a…  I don’t think it’ll be a problem the way that she said it might be, where I’m not ready enough… I think it might still hurt a little, but… I want it. If you do, that is. Only if you do.”

 

“Of course I do,” Nicole says with a blush of her own, taking Waverly by surprise.

 

“You do? Does it… is it nice for the other person?” Waverly asks a little sheepishly, and then another question jumps from her before she can filter herself. “Have you done it before?”

 

“I have,” Nicole replies with a soft laugh at Waverly’s eagerness. “I’ll confess, I only prefer a… light touch in that respect, but yes. I have. And when it’s done well, I enjoy it a good deal.”

 

“What’s it like?” Waverly asks with piqued interest, picking up on the vein of her other thought. 

 

“On the givin’ end?” Nicole questions with a raised eyebrow, looking to Waverly with a little smile. “Well, it’s very nice, if I’m honest.”

 

“It is? Can I… can I, if you want to that is, later…” Waverly says, flushing deeply. “I mean… I’d like to try that, too.”

 

“You would?” Nicole asks, almost disbelieving, a little touched, Waverly thinks, that she is willing to engage so deeply with Nicole’s pleasure and not only lie back and experience it herself. 

 

“I want you to have all of me, but I want to have all of you, too,” Waverly replies softly, pushing Nicole’s hair away from her face where it’s fallen down around her eyes. “Well, as much as you want to give me, that is. We are equals, Nicole. In every way. But especially here.”

 

“I’d…I’d really like that, Waverly,” Nicole says bashfully, ducking her head for a second, and Waverly thinks she hears an almost-moan from Nicole, too, reverberating out through her fingertips. 

 

“I would, too,” Waverly replies, her tone warm and magnetic, and she watches with a smile as it draws Nicole closer to her lips. “I’d like that very much. In fact, I’m not certain what I want more. To touch you, or for you to touch me.”

 

“I know the feelin’,” Nicole whispers against her lips, before her hand finally begins to move down Waverly’s stomach again. “Although, I think one is winnin’ out for me, but I want you to know that we don’t have to do anythin’ if you’re not completely sure. We have time. We have so much time, and we don’t have to do everythin’ the first time.”

 

“I know we don’t, and I can’t tell you how much it means that you’re not pushin’ anythin,’ and that we can move at whatever pace we both need. But it’s important to me, Nicole,” Waverly says quietly, and she watches as Nicole takes in the significance of her words. “If it’s somethin’ you want, too.”

 

“I want,” Nicole replies hungrily, nodding, and Waverly feels her stomach drop at the desire heavy in Nicole’s voice, because she wants her, she wants this, and it only fuels and sparks and burns Waverly’s own desire that much hotter. “But…”

 

“I know it’s going to hurt, but I embrace that,” Waverly returns, her voice and consent clear. “I’m not going to shy away from that because of a little discomfort. Especially not somethin’ like this. Besides, I want a reminder of you. I want to be able to feel you tomorrow.”

 

Nicole shivers from her core outwards at that, Waverly can feel it pass through her like a wave above her, and when her eyes open, her pupils are so blown black it makes Waverly’s breath stick in her throat. 

 

“I want you very much, Waverly Earp,” Nicole breathes deeply, her eyes moving over Waverly’s face quickly, searching for any hint or sign that Waverly wants her to stop or slow down, but Waverly doesn’t want that, she wants Nicole instead.  

 

It makes Waverly blush, Nicole’s boldness, and it turns her desire liquid, and all of a sudden, being as close as they are still isn’t enough. 

 

“I want you very much, too, Nicole Haught,” Waverly answers easily, smoothly, pulling Nicole down to her lips, sighing when Nicole slides her tongue into her mouth, the kiss deeper than before. It’s slower, too, so much slower. So much that Waverly’s heart aches with it, her ribs creaking under the desperate breath she draws in hastily when Nicole’s hand finally moves against her. 

 

“Oh, my g—“ is all that she manages to utter as Nicole’s fingers move purposefully, still gentle, but more surely than before, more confident in her movements as Waverly moves fluidly beneath her. 

 

Nicole leans in to capture her lips again, kissing, kissing, kissing as she begins to work Waverly up the way she had before, only it’s quicker this time, so much quicker, because she’s already so ready. 

 

“Off,” Waverly gasps when they part for breath a minute or so later, bucking her hips up against Nicole’s hand. “I want everythin’ off, I want to be…”

 

She doesn’t need to finish her sentence because Nicole knows. She knows exactly what it is that Waverly’s asking for. 

 

Waverly bites her lip as she watches Nicole’s hands travel to her hips, her delicate fingers slipping beneath the edge of her bloomers. She looks up to Waverly, locking their eyes together as she drags the fabric over Waverly’s hip bones, and Waverly feels herself throb so strongly she’s sure Nicole must feel it herself, somehow. Nicole presses a kiss to Waverly’s hip bone, and then across to the other side, and Waverly lifts her hips, allowing Nicole to drag the last piece of her clothing off before moving up alongside her again. 

 

It’s a little nerve-wracking to begin with - being finally, completely bare in front of Nicole - but she doesn’t give Waverly a second to feel self-conscious, running her hand over Waverly’s bare stomach the instant she has discarded her bloomers. The light touch makes her jump a little, and she bites her lip in an attempt to school her body into a smoother reaction for the next.

 

“You truly are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life, Waverly,” Nicole breathes, her eyes moving over all of her. 

 

It allows Waverly to breathe in a sigh of relief herself, because she had been a little worried that she might look different bare in comparison to Nicole’s other lovers, but if she does, Nicole doesn’t show it for a second. She looks as though she’s been handed a chest full of riches instead, her eyes wide with something Waverly thinks is wonder, or awe. 

 

“Are you sure?” Waverly asks self-consciously, smothering the urge to cover herself in some way. “I mean…”

 

“If I tell you you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, I’m not over-exaggerating,” Nicole offers smoothly, looking to Waverly. “You are a vision.”

 

There’s such conviction in Nicole’s voice, such a plain truth, that Waverly can’t help but believe her, wholly and as simply as that. She still feels more than a little shy, but it’s easier when Nicole wants her as blatantly as she does. It’s easier, also, to voice what she wants next. 

 

“Will you… can I take these off, too?” Waverly asks softly, running her finger along the line of Nicole’s own underpants, watching, transfixed, at the sight of Nicole’s eyes closing at her touch.  

 

“You want to?” Nicole asks breathlessly, her hands stilling in their movement on her hips.

 

“One day you’re gonna stop bein’ surprised that I want you,” Waverly says teasingly, her fingers already slipping beneath the waistband, glowing at how warm Nicole’s skin is against her fingers.

 

“I am never gonna stop bein’ surprised that you want me,” Nicole replies with a smirk of her own, breaking her own sentence with a groan as Waverly pushes the piece of clothing down her thighs. 

 

Nicole helps a little at the end, moving back so she can rid herself of the garment completely before crawling up the bed again, towards a breathless Waverly. The first look she gets of Nicole - the first proper, open look - renders Waverly speechless, and she’s always had a curious admiration for the female body, but Nicole’s is…

 

She doesn’t even have a word, or an expression, or a sound, that does the image justice, because Nicole half-bare had been stunning, but seeing her like this, totally exposed, it’s like nothing Waverly has ever seen before. Nicole hovers above her for a moment, unsure if Waverly wants her to settle directly against her, completely skin to skin, or not, and it’s only the expression of hesitation on Nicole’s face that makes Waverly realise she still hasn’t said anything. 

 

“Nicole…” Waverly begins, but she stops short because she doesn’t know quite how to express herself, the sight of Nicole derailing every thought she has. 

 

Because every inch of Nicole’s skin is flawless, like she and all of her scars and every freckle and blemish are carved from marble and not flesh and blood like Waverly herself is. Because Nicole is beautiful in a way that Waverly didn’t even know was possible, eternal and timeless and so very here at the same time. She admits defeat in trying to articulate herself with words, and speaks with her body instead. 

 

Waverly leans up purposefully, meaningfully, running her hands from Nicole’s shoulders down, down, down Nicole’s arms to her side, over her hips until they can grasp at slightly thicker flesh, bringing Nicole down against her thoroughly, completely _ , _ and they both sigh heavily at the sensation when it settles through their skin. 

 

She’s  _ warm _ . That’s the overwhelming barrage that floods her brain - warm, warm, warm. Warm against Waverly’s stomach and warm against her breasts and warm between her thighs where Nicole presses up against her.  _ Warm,  _ Waverly thinks suddenly _. I can feel Nicole warm against me there.  _

 

“Oh, Waverly,” Nicole sighs desperately, her forehead resting against Waverly’s, and she realises with a jolt that Nicole can feel her warm and ready against her own thigh, too. 

 

“Does it always feel this good just touching like we are?” Waverly asks with a heavy shake in her voice, her hands moving to rest in the small of Nicole’s back, ensuring she doesn’t move an inch. 

 

“No,” Nicole returns with an equally rough voice, leaning her head back a little so she can look Waverly in the eye. “No, it most definitely doesn’t. This is… I don’t know what this is, truthfully, but it’s incredible.”

 

Waverly’s calf slides higher up Nicole’s thigh, and Nicole takes the opportunity to put the smallest amount of space between them so she can slide her hand down against Waverly once more. 

 

“I want to make you feel good, again,” Nicole says to her - asks her - and Waverly can’t nod quickly enough, arching her back to widen the hollow between them so Nicole can…

 

“Nicole…” Waverly gasps. At least she thinks she does, she’s not certain if she thinks it or dreams it or something else entirely, because the first touch of Nicole's fingers lifts her clear out of consciousness. 

 

“Okay?” Nicole asks a little teasingly, rhetorically, because there’s no way Nicole doesn’t know how so very okay this is.

 

“Dreadful,” Waverly replies, her breath hitching, smiling wickedly as she looks up to Nicole. There’s a bravado in her voice that she doesn’t totally feel, because she wants this, she wants Nicole, but her nerves are beginning to creep back in. 

 

But she fights them back, because she trusts Nicole, she trusts her more than she’s ever trusted anybody in her life, even more than she trusts Wynonna, and she knows Nicole would never lead her down a path that won’t be exquisite after a small moment of discomfort. 

 

Nicole doesn’t move her towards that immediately, though. No, she takes her time, she works Waverly up higher and higher and steeper, until Waverly is almost writhing beneath the growing heat of Nicole’s body atop hers. She waits, in fact, until Waverly thinks she can’t possIbly take another second, before leading her fingers down the length of Waverly, lower against the collection of red hot desire gathering at her core. Nicole’s fingers tease her, sliding in her arousal, and they press delicately against her before looking up to meet Waverly’s eyes. 

 

She doesn’t ask Waverly again, she doesn’t have to, because Waverly’s right there with her, watching her, too, and Waverly nods her approval before Nicole kisses her and pushes inside her in the same instant, so, so slowly, for the first time. Nicole eases one finger in first, sliding with frictionless grace, gently pushing her apart, and Nicole’s right, it hurts a little, but she can take it, she can take it because Nicole is inside her. 

 

Waverly bites her lip in an attempt to counter the sting of discomfort, slowly feeling her body welcome the slight stretch brought by Nicole’s finger. 

 

“Are you okay?” Nicole asks softly, looking down to Waverly with a frown of concern. Her shoulders are lined with tension as she halts still within her, and it’s in that moment that Waverly realises how important it is for her to reassure Nicole, in accompaniment to Nicole reassuring her. 

 

Because this is new for her, so new, but it can’t be easy to be on the other side of this equation, knowing something you’re doing is likely to cause pain to someone you care deeply for. She smiles low and wide, hoping that her eyes will tell Nicole how okay she is, in addition to the verbal assurance she intends to offer, too. 

 

“Very okay,” Waverly replies, pushing up to kiss Nicole in illustration, her fingers spreading wide in Nicole’s hair. “It’s a little… but no worse than I was expectin’.”

 

“We can stop, if you need,” Nicole offers, her eyes full of care. “We don’t have to—“

 

“No,” Waverly says quickly, shaking her head, her hands tightening as if to hold Nicole in place. “Please, having you inside, it’s… I don’t want you to stop.”

 

Nicole’s face breaks into a soft smile then, one that fills every line in her face with relief, that Waverly’s okay, that she still wants this, and it’s so beautiful Waverly is almost overwhelmed with it. She kisses Nicole again, slower this time, pushing her hips up against Nicole’s hand, shivering when she feels Nicole move within her a little. 

 

“I’ll start slow, but tell me if I’m going too fast?” Nicole asks, her voice as gentle as the movements of her finger, beginning to push in and out softly, and Waverly feels her whole stomach clench at the feeling. 

 

Because there’s still a little bite of pain, but her body is beginning to feel accustomed to it now, and she’s beginning to feel something else entirely.  _ Pleasure _ . She’s beginning to feel pleasure. It’s a little muted, still, but it’s there. 

 

She feels some of her muscles uncurl as the pain begins to recede, most notably when Nicole’s thumb bumps over a small knot of nerves as she starts to lengthen the strokes of her finger, drawing almost all the way out before pushing back in to the hilt of her hand. The gasp catches them both by surprise, but Waverly doesn’t let it stop her movements, because she’s starting to feel more now as her body accustoms itself to the stretch and the slight burn, and she starts rolling her hips to meet Nicole’s thrusts. 

 

She can feel Nicole’s shoulders ease at the realisation that Waverly is beginning to get more out of this than when they begun, and at Waverly’s hasty nod, she starts moving quicker. It’s something else again, feeling Nicole push into her with some speed, her thumb occasionally brushing over the other part of her that makes her jump, and the quiet moans start to fall from her lips easily. 

 

It’s not exactly the sensation of Nicole being inside her that is bringing these to the surface, it’s everything. It’s that it’s Nicole over her, kissing her, inside her, that’s where the pleasure is deriving from. 

 

The nip of pain becomes a low nothing after a while, as Nicole continues to pulse in and out, dropping the occasional kiss to Waverly’s chest, or as low down over Waverly’s breasts as she can reach, and Waverly can feel herself tighten around Nicole’s finger in an attempt to deepen the pleasure. Nicole feels it, too, as perceptive as she is, her lips parting with a moan of her own when Waverly tightens around her as much as such can, her chest rising off the bed in the effort. 

 

“I think you’re ready for a little more, if you’d like it,” Nicole whispers against her lips, her voice as rough as Waverly has ever heard it, and Waverly can’t say yes quickly enough, Nicole smiling at her haste. 

 

She catches Waverly’s next moan with her mouth, and Waverly can feel the flutter of another finger pressing against her before it pushes against the resistance it meets, sliding in to meet its partner. The breath leaves her lungs in a rush, and Waverly bites her lip so as not to wince, not wanting to give Nicole cause to stop, just to slow as she relaxes around the tighter stretch. 

 

“It’ll get easier,” Nicole purrs softly, seeing the look of determination on Waverly’s face before kissing her. “I promise it’ll get easier, but if you don’t want to…”

 

“I don’t want to stop,” Waverly replies a little roughly. “I don’t, it’s nice in a way, the pressure. Knowin’ it’s you makes it good.”

 

“Wait until you feel things on the other side,” Nicole says, her smile a little wicked, and Waverly knows it’s a distraction tactic, but it’s a welcome one, for the moment. 

 

“Is it…” Waverly asks before trailing off, lost in the look on Nicole’s face which - she thinks - tells her everything she needs to know. 

 

“I don’t think there’s anythin’ in this life better than feelin’ you around my fingers, Waverly Earp,” Nicole says boldly, and Waverly shivers beneath the pure confidence in Nicole’s words. “I don’t even have the words to tell you how good it is. How lucky I feel. I can’t wait for you to feel it. I can’t wait to have you inside me, too.”

 

“Oh, god,” Waverly gasps roughly, almost losing her mind at the idea, of what it must be to feel the warmth of your lover around you in such a way. 

 

“Somethin’ like that, yes,” Nicole says with a smirk, starting to move her fingers again, smiling wider when Waverly’s eyes flutter closed and she arches against the bed. 

 

It’s different with two fingers, Waverly can feel everything heavier - the stretch, the light burn, but the pleasure, too, of having Nicole more thickly inside her. She can feel the pressure building, but she doesn’t think she’ll be able to end from this, not quite, though Nicole seems to understand that, too, shuffling her body so she can drape attention over her neck and chest, so she can take Waverly’s nipple into her mouth, swirling her tongue over the tip, so she can make Waverly bend and rise to meet her. 

 

That does it, that begins to bring about a change in Waverly, along with Nicole’s thumb rubbing over her, too, that brings a flush to her chest and neck to accompany the kisses Nicole places there. 

 

“I’m….” Waverly gasps, unable to articulate herself further, dissolving into a moan when Nicole’s teeth scrape against her nipple lightly. 

 

And then she peaks, hard, clenching down around Nicole’s fingers and beneath her mouth, the muscles of her core fluttering as Nicole tries to draw out her pleasure as long as possible, her fingers stroking gently, her lips massaging over her breast, and Waverly can do nothing but break beneath her. 

 

Nicole eases her down as gently as she had built her up, her kisses softening and the movement of her fingers inside quieting, too, until she makes to move away, and Waverly stops her. 

 

“Not yet,” she says quietly, blushing beneath her own admission. “Please? I just want to feel you a little longer.”

 

“Of course,” Nicole replies, her voice soft as she watches Waverly carefully. “Are you… did I…?”

 

“That was…” Waverly begins, before collecting her thoughts for a moment, looking to Nicole with an expression of wonder. “Perfect. And everythin’, Nicole. It was everythin’.”

 

“I didn’t hurt you?” Nicole asks, obviously still worried, and Waverly simply smiles up at her in return. 

 

“Not at all,” Waverly replies with a shake of her head, sighing when Nicole eases herself out slowly. “It was far less than I was expectin’, far less than I was anticipatin’ based on Wynonna’s preparation speech, although I imagine that comes down to you, more’n anythin’ else.”

 

“Well, I mean fingers are finer in any event,” Nicole tries to reason, but Waverly just levels her with a look. “I don’t want to take all the credit, although I must confess, I think a first time with a woman is much better than the alternative.”

 

“Unless you plan on leavin’ my bed, you’ll have all the time in the world to show me just how much better bein’ with a woman truly is,” Waverly offers, biting her lip for the simple reason of watching Nicole’s gaze drop to it.

 

“If you want me in your bed, it’ll take a herd of horses to run me out, Waverly,” Nicole replies, her eyes shifting between Waverly’s lips and her eyes. “Although, you know it only takes your word if you ever want me to go.”

 

“I don’t want you to go,” Waverly utters softly. “I don’t ever want you to go, alright? I want to keep you with me, always. I’d never leave this bed if we could get away with it.”

 

Nicole goes a little quiet then, and it takes Waverly’s palm on her cheek to urge her to look up, into Waverly’s eyes again. Waverly opens herself, trying to make Nicole see just how much she feels for her, how it feels as though her desire and affection are wedded to her bone, not simply her heart, and slowly Nicole begins to smile in return. 

 

“I don’t want to leave this bed, either,” Nicole says finally, and Waverly can see the affection in Nicole’s eyes as clear as day also. “God, Waverly I didn’t even know it was possible to feel this much. I want you again, and you’re still catching your breath.”

 

“I’m no man, remember,” Waverly offers a little boldly, one of her hands moving down over Nicole’s hip, squeezing tight in the firm muscle of Nicole’s behind. “I don’t need to recover, although I think I owe you somethin’ for the last.”

 

Nicole looks to her, and she can see the desire sitting almost tangibly on top of her skin, calling Waverly closer again, and Waverly gathers her energy to roll Nicole onto her back, but she’s met with resistance when she tries. 

 

“I thought?” she asks a little vaguely, but Nicole returns her half-posed question with a dangerous looking smile, shaking her head. 

 

“Later,” Nicole breathes against her, kissing her again, holding her weight pleasantly on top of Waverly’s body. “I need to have you again, Waverly. Please?”

 

“That’s a fine thing to bargain for, Miss Haught,” Waverly replies, tightening her grip over Nicole’s backside and winding her other hand into the soft hair at the top of Nicole’s neck. “I suppose I can allow it. But only if I can have you after.”

 

“Deal,” Nicole returns quickly, her eyes flashing bright, before she stills, as though an idea has come to her. 

 

“What is it?” Waverly asks softly, running both of her hands over Nicole’s back. “Is everythin’ alright?” 

 

“More than,” Nicole says, smiling before looking down the length of Waverly’s body. “It’s just…I told you a little before that there were a number of ways for us to find pleasure, and… do you trust me?”

 

“Of course,” Waverly says automatically, because she does, deeply so, only it takes her a moment to register what it is that Nicole’s referring to, once she begins moving down Waverly’s body.

 

Because Wynonna had told her of an act that men enjoyed having performed on them, but she hadn’t realised such a thing was possible for women, too. 

 

“Is this alright?” Nicole asks as she begins to kiss her way across Waverly’s stomach, and the sheer sight of it takes her breath away. 

 

Because Nicole moving down her body is something from a dream. Her hair drags lightly over Waverly’s stomach after her kisses, tickling, and she squirms a little, just a little, but enough for Nicole’s hands to move to her hips and hold her down. 

 

Waverly likes that, she finds with a throb to her core. She likes that very much, indeed. 

 

So she plays, bucking up into Nicole a fraction harder, watching as Nicole’s eyes flash with a quick understanding and she tightens her grip at Waverly’s hips, readjusting a little as she reaches her destination, laying her arm across Waverly’s waist like a belt to hold her down. 

 

Nicole settles between her legs properly then, urging Waverly’s thighs apart a little further, baring her completely to Nicole. It exposes her more fully than she thought she would ever be, and the urge to cover herself passes across her mind for a second, but then she catches Nicole’s gaze, and the weight of it stops her from trying to draw her legs together. Nicole glances up to Waverly before she dips her head any lower, her other hand easing Waverly’s calf up over her shoulder, pausing, but Waverly can already feel Nicole’s breath hot against her core, and she wants it. She wants Nicole now. 

 

“I trust you,” Waverly says, and she can hear the tremble in her own voice, the desire, and she knows Nicole can hear it, too. 

 

She does lower herself then, closing over Waverly, hot and warm and liquid, and Waverly almost dies on the spot, her heart stopping with finality, because it’s…it’s…it’s…

 

The moan she lets loose is higher pitched than the others, and she can hear her own disbelief in it, like she can’t quite believe how good this feels. 

 

Nicole settles in gently at first, moving her tongue in small circles, running up and down the length of her. She allows Waverly time to become accustomed to the new sensation before she starts moving her tongue more heavily, flattening it and swirling in larger circles, and then she starts sucking, too, and the jumps of Waverly’s hips aren’t testing or playing at all, they’re solid and real. 

 

This is different to before, when Nicole was inside her. The pleasure is deeper, more thorough, more like their first time, and she knows that if Nicole continues like this, she’ll be able to reach a peak in no time at all. 

 

But Nicole doesn’t just continue, she gives more. 

 

She laps up everything Waverly gives, covering her almost completely, drawing the small bundle that makes her feel the most of all between her lips gently before her tongue moves down. It slips inside her, pulsing in and out for a moment, readying her before the hand that isn’t holding her down against the bed moves between them, a finger sliding inside her as Nicole continues her attention above. 

 

Waverly has a moment to take note of her own reaction to Nicole’s stimulus before she comes this time, the sensation beginning to feel familiar, identifiable, recognisable. The flutter begins low in her belly, coming and going for a time before it settles, rising and peaking in time with the strokes of Nicole’s finger and the movements of her tongue. 

 

Her breathing becomes more laboured, her inhale and exhale shorter and more clipped as her breaths become more desperate, clawing the air into her lungs as her climax nears, which Nicole can obviously feel, too. Or see, or hear. Which, Waverly isn’t certain how, but she knows. Somehow she knows, and she reacts in kind. 

 

She moves her tongue over Waverly more insistently, moves her hand as quick as she thinks Waverly can take. Waverly’s hands move to thread into Nicole’s hair through some subconscious desperation as she feels the soft fluttering build and build and build, until finally something snaps and she feels  _ everything _ . 

 

Her whole body just stops _ , _ and she tenses beneath Nicole’s tongue, the pleasure ebbing out to every corner of her body: to the edges of her fingertips, through her chest, down her thighs, everywhere _ , _ until her breathing almost sounds like sobs. 

 

The  trembling begins to slow eventually, and so does Nicole above her, her tongue and the touch between her thighs working down, only drawing away when she feels the last shudder leave Waverly’s body. 

 

Her hands move from Nicole’s hair gently, smoothing it down as the odd strike of lightning finds a muscle across her body, making her jump a little. She pulls Nicole up her body, hungry for a kiss, hungry to tell he r how good that was, taken aback when Nicole looks up to her, nothing short of a goddess. Her hair is messy despite Waverly’s attempts to smooth it down, her cheeks are flushed from exertion and her lips are wet - with  _ me _ , Waverly thinks with a jolt, they’re wet from me. 

 

Nicole holds herself back a little, wiping delicately at the side of her mouth as she rises, watching Waverly with a intimate warmth. She can sense that Nicole is hesitating to kiss her, lest the evidence of herself on Nicole’s mouth be too much, but she doesn’t care. She pulls Nicole to her, her mouth opening for Nicole’s tongue immediately, groaning at the lust she can taste evident on Nicole’s tongue and the slight saltiness that must be her. 

 

“If I ever hesitate when you ask me to trust you, remind me of that, won’t you?” Waverly says with a gasp when they finally part, trying to memorise this sensation, of floating, as Nicole holds her tethered to the earth.

 

“Certainly,” Nicole replies, laughing quietly as Waverly struggles to catch her breath. “You liked that, then?”

 

“Very much so,” Waverly answers, a fresh blush breaking over her neck, running up her throat. “I didn’t even know women could do such a thing together.”

 

“Not all women do,” Nicole explains quietly, her hand drawing circles on Waverly’s bare back before running up and down her spine. “Some prefer not to, but it’s something I enjoy, especially with you bein’ as responsive as you are.”

 

“I am?” Waverly asks, curious, her blush deepening. “Is that somethin’ good?”

 

“Very good,” Nicole replies smoothly, her fingers dancing over the lines of Waverly’s ribs. “Very, very good. It lets me know when I’m doin’ somethin’ right, after all, and it’s…well I’d be lyin’ if I said it didn’t drive my own desire, too.”

 

“It does? Bringin’ me pleasure also brings you some, too?” Waverly questions, smiling a little, pleased with Nicole’s admission and what it means. 

 

“More than some, Waverly Earp,” Nicole replies, her eyes glazing over a little, and Waverly can feel her heartbeat pick up in response. 

 

“You look beautiful like this, did you know?” Waverly asks softly, looking to Nicole as an overwhelming sense of peace settles over her, trailing her fingers along Nicole’s collarbone. “With your hair a little wild and this blush just here.”

 

Her heart thumps harder in her chest when Nicole moves closer, and she can feel just how much touching her has truly done to stir the heat between Nicole’s thighs, too. 

 

“You know, I didn’t,” Nicole says in reply, her blush only growing beneath Waverly’s continuously wandering hand, over her breasts and down the quaking muscles of her stomach. 

 

“So beautiful,” Waverly offers with an unmistakable warmth in her voice, taking one of Nicole’s hands in her own when they move, inspecting the length of them against hers before kissing each knuckle carefully. “I think you have the loveliest fingers I’ve ever seen in my life, and not only because I know what they can do now.”

 

“Well, I happen to think you have the loveliest fingers,” Nicole says, taking her by surprise, pressing her lips against Waverly’s palm, and there’s something so distinctly intimate about the gesture that makes her heart swell. 

 

“I think you’re just sayin’ that,” Waverly says a little playfully, knowing full well that Nicole would never say anything to her like that unless she thought it absolutely true. 

 

“I promise you I’m not,” Nicole replies easily, smiling at Waverly’s frown. “Watchin’ you work, watchin’ your hands move, I think I could fall in love with them alone.”

 

That makes her freeze in Nicole’s arms, because  _ love _ , Nicole said love, like Nicole could love her, and it’s only at Nicole’s slightly panicked expression that she finds the strength to shake her head quickly. 

 

“Good… that’s…” she managers to stutter, because she needs Nicole to know she likes that word from Nicole’s mouth, she likes it a lot, that her pause is good shock and not bad shock, and she watches thankfully as Nicole breathes a sigh of relief before she collects herself and tries again. “That’s…I think I could fall in love with yours, too, Nicole.”

 

They’re not only talking about hands anymore, they’re thinking about something else entirely. About falling in love wholly. And Waverly doesn’t think she’s ever been happier than she is in the moment when Nicole beams at her and she knows that’s what Nicole means, too. 

 

Not just about hands. 

 

“Am I to take that the rest of me is useless, then?” Nicole asks her teasingly, and Waverly drops her head with a laugh. “That you’re only interested in my hands? Because I must confess, I’m very fond of yours, but they’re not my favourite part of you.”

 

“Oh?” Waverly questions, her eyebrow raised in curiosity, pausing the movement of her fingertips along and over Nicole’s hip. “What is, if I may ask?”

 

“Well, I’m very partial to some of your other… assets,” Nicole offers with a smirk, her hand traveling from Waverly’s back down to palm her behind firmly before moving to the nape of her neck. “That uncommonly capable tongue of yours is rather envious, both inside and outside of this room. I think that is far and away my favourite.”

 

“Perhaps I’ll have to demonstrate the usefulness of my hands to you once more?” Waverly says, biting her lip, looking Nicole directly in the eye. “To see if they can find favour again?”

 

“You can only try,” Nicole replies with a dramatic sigh before she moves just slightly, and Waverly understands this to mean Nicole’s body is hers now.

 

So she does what any sane person would do. 

 

She leans down, and she kisses, and she  _ gives _ . 

  
  


-

  
  


Waverly loses count of how many times they sample each other’s bodies over the hours that follow, mostly slowly, with an easy grace, as if they both know that there’s no rush, because now that they’re here, they have the rest of their lives to take their time. 

 

Nicole tastes like adoration and loyalty and a sweet kind of salt, and the sunrise, too, and Waverly savours the sensation of it on her hands and in her lungs, and she falls, in a way she didn’t even know was possible, further for Nicole. 

 

Her arms are warm around Waverly’s shoulders when sleep finally takes hold of them both, beautifully warm and soft and safe - Waverly feels safe, completely safe, for the first time in her life. Nicole chases away the shadows that linger in the corner of the room, waiting for her when she sleeps. Nicole chases away the doubt in her heart that this is too good to be true. Because Nicole’s pulse beats her name, her soul covers Waverly’s weary form, enclosing her in a fierce protection that Waverly can feel humming along her skin. 

 

She feels safe, with her ear against Nicole’s chest, counting the heartbeats beneath her;  _ one, two, three.  _ She feels home. 

 

Sleep is gripping her limbs a little firmer now, and as much as she wants to stay awake, to drink in the feeling of Nicole’s naked body against and around and beneath her, she knows that the sleep that will follow will be the soundest yet. She knows Nicole is waiting for her to fall asleep before she does herself, she can feel it in her breathing, and Waverly falls harder still. 

 

So when the darkness, not so malignant now, comes calling, for once she goes without hesitation. In Nicole’s arms, she  _ sleeps _ . 

  
  


-

  
  


Waverly wakes some time in the early morning, and for a moment, her mind is wonderfully, blankly, still. 

 

There’s no great rush of panic or worry or inventory of everything she knows she has to do today, there’s only peace and silence. And a warm weight draped over her side, with a warmer weight against her back. 

 

_ Nicole _ , she thinks slowly, taking in the reassuring presence of Nicole’s arm draped over her stomach. Nicole is here and Nicole is real, and last night wasn’t some blissful dream. 

 

She’s never woken up with another in her bed like this. Sure,  Wynonna used to curl up next to her when they were small, but she’s never experienced anything quite this before. Because this feels different, this feels intimate, almost more so than everything that had happened between them in the hours preceding their blissful sleep. 

 

This feels special, like a small piece of the world that they won’t ever have to share with anyone else, save each other. 

 

Nicole’s body is warm, even in sleep, the perfect accompaniment to the cooler temperature that Waverly herself runs at, and it’s protective, too, wrapped around Waverly as if holding the pieces of her closer together after Nicole had unravelled her, again and again and again. 

 

Her limbs feel heavy and light at the same time, her body beautifully sore, like it is in the aftermath of a hard day’s work on the homestead, but she doesn’t shy away from it. Instead, she relishes it, feeling Nicole in the heavy tension of her muscles, her hands on the inside of her thighs, her mouth at her pulse in her neck, and then much lower down, at the pulse inside the curve of her hip, too. 

 

She can feel herself warming again already, her body responding to the sheer memory of Nicole, and she glances at the pocket watch -  _ her _ pocket watch - noting the time as just past five in the morning, drawing together the plan in her head of having Nicole once, maybe twice, before they have to get up for the day. Before they have to seperate and pretend for all intents and purposes that they hadn’t just spent the whole night together. 

 

Waverly’s hand moves to the marks she knows exist on the rise of her breasts, visible remnants of Nicole’s touch, carefully left below the line of all of Waverly’s clothing, lest anyone notice it, and her blood heats quicker still. It grows warmer and warmer it moves through her body, until the desire to turn in Nicole’s arms and raise her from sleep becomes irresistible. 

 

Nicole’s arms move to accommodate her, even in slumber, and Waverly begins to press kiss after kiss to Nicole’s neck, slowly feeling her rouse from sleep, slowly feeling her respond. It doesn’t take long, or rather, Waverly doesn’t get far, before Nicole’s hands move to her hips, finding completely bare skin, all remnants of their clothing on the floor around them still, and Waverly sighs at the relief that sounds through her body immediately. 

 

She hears Nicole’s breathing begin to change, too, and she’s just about to roll over and onto Nicole, to slide between her thighs, when she hears a quiet shuffling next to the bed, immediately placing the sound. Extricating herself from Nicole carefully, waiting until she appears to drift back to sleep without Waverly’s attention to wake her, Waverly climbs away from the warmth of the bed and towards a sleepy Oakley on the floor. 

 

“Hi, girl,” Waverly whispers, holding out her hand for Oakley to bump her nose against, smiling when she wriggles her small body in excitement in Waverly’s direction. “You’ve been so good, do you want to go outside?”

 

In lieu of actually being able to talk, Oakley just wriggles a little harder, and Waverly has to smother a quiet laugh, careful not to wake Nicole. 

 

The air in the room is significantly cooler than it was earlier in the night, and goosebumps break out over Waverly’s arms once she moves away from Nicole, so she looks around the room for something to put on. Nicole’s shirt is closer than her nightshirt, and it’s almost as long without pants to tuck into, so she pulls that on instead, sighing when the scent of their perfume and the smell that is distinctly Nicole floods her lungs. Waverly pulls her bloomers on quickly, looking around for her coat, finding it on the floor a few feet away before pulling it on over her shoulders, shivering when the still cool fabric settles over her back through Nicole’s thin shirt. 

 

The thought strikes her as she’s tying up the knot of her coat around her waist that it is still night, and as such, might not be safe yet to venture outside alone, but then she remembers the small space outside of the kitchen, closed off from the street, and decides that surely it would be safe if nothing else is. 

 

Moonlight throws itself over the silver of the pocket watch on the nightstand, and without really thinking, Waverly reaches for it, running her thumb over the engraved lines before tucking it into one of her pockets, wanting some part of Nicole to come outside with her. 

 

She takes a moment then to let her eyes fall over the sleeping form in the bed before her, losing herself in the soft waves of Nicole’s hair, and the steady rise and fall of her breath, somehow still in rhythm with Waverly’s own, even from a distance. The non-existent band around her throat thickens when she makes the connection in her brain that this is hers, this future is hers, just as she is wholly and completely Nicole’s in return. Her fingernails bite into her palm, and she relishes the pain she feels, because it means that this is real, it’s not a dream, even though she’s floating, her body as invisibly buoyant as if this was still one.  

 

Nicole is beautiful in sleep, perhaps even more so than awake, because the stillness, the slow rhythm of each inhale and exhale, looks like art. 

 

The thought comes to her then, that maybe she should wake Nicole, that she should drag her down and outside, as much as she doesn’t want to disturb her, because Nicole would rather that than have Waverly leave the safe confines of the Inn. 

 

_ But it’ll only be for a moment, _ Waverly thinks to herself.  _ And I’m not even going outside. Not really. And Nicole looks so lovely sleeping.  _

 

So she bends down to give Nicole a kiss on the cheek instead. 

 

Nicole smiles in her sleep at the touch, but she doesn’t move. She doesn’t wake. She falls back into sleep instead. 

 

Scooping Oakley up into her arms, Waverly pushes the door open as quietly as she can, peering out to ensure the hallway is clear before stepping out fully. It doesn’t take her long to make her way downstairs, past the unmanned front desk and door, through to the kitchen where she sets Oakley down on the ground so she can unbolt the door. 

 

“We’ve gotta be quick, okay, girl?” Waverly says, as though Oakley understands exactly what she’s saying, before carefully pushing the door open. 

 

She does so slowly, holding the door open a crack, enough for any malignant scents to make their way to them for Oakley to detect, but she doesn’t make a sound, so Waverly assumes the coast must be clear. Holding the door open, Waverly waits for Oakley to walk outside first with her nose to the ground, feeling a little more comfortable when the pup doesn’t give any signal or warning of any reason why she shouldn’t take a step outside, too. 

 

So she does, cautiously, carefully, she does, drawing in a deep breath of the fresh, very early morning air, sighing happily when it fills her lungs. 

 

She takes a moment then, to take in her surroundings, to try and remember everything from this moment, from the morning after she and Nicole…

 

She’s midway through the thought when something catches her eye on the side of the building a few feet away, only doing so because everything is immaculate here, Gus and Curtis both on top of a mess before it has a chance to settle. 

 

It’s so out of place, that’s what catches her attention, so she walks over to the black smudge on the outside of the wood to investigate. The mark is almost a handprint in shape, when she reaches out to lay her hand alongside it, and the second she does so, she feels something slide down her back, like someone has just walked over her grave. 

 

And then the air changes. 

 

She doesn’t need Oakley’s low growl to tell her that something is very wrong, she knows that of her own accord, Oakley’s warning only heightening her sense of panic. 

 

The air around her feels thicker suddenly, cloying almost, and Waverly spins, looking for some sign or sight of danger, only she can’t see anything. 

 

She can feel it though, like some low-swooping evil, and she turns, looking for the safety of the door back to the Inn when something black flashes in the corner of her vision, and she feels an overwhelming pain to the back of her head, and everything goes  **black** . 

  
  


-

  
  


Waverly’s head throbs in time with her heartbeat as she comes out of her recollection, her hands bound too tightly to reach behind her and check on the lump she knows will have risen over the spot where she had been hit. 

 

She doesn’t think there will be any lingering damage from the blow, because she knows who she is, she can remember the events of last night - before the injury - just fine. She doesn’t know where she is, though. 

 

Only that it’s dark. It’s very dark. And it’s cold.

 

It’s been hard to stop the despair from choking her in the pitch black, because she knows she’s going to die, she knows she is, but she can’t let that moment of completely smothered hope overwhelm her until…

 

…until  _ it _ happens. 

 

She tries to focus on the warming coolness of the metal in her hands, of Nicole’s watch, of Nicole’s soft, soft lips against her own, of Nicole sighing her name with a release, of Nicole riding as fast as she can once she realises where Waverly is being held captive. 

 

_ At least they had last night,  _ she thinks to herself, trying to push back the despair that keeps falling through her fingers like sand.  _ At least Nicole knows how deeply I feel for her now. At least she has no doubt in that.  _

 

_ Unless she thinks I ran away. Unless she thinks I didn’t want that at all.  _

 

No, Waverly thinks, shaking her head. Nicole will know. Nicole will know. Nicole must know. Because she’d been able to taste how much Nicole had wanted her in her lips when Nicole kissed her, she’d been able to feel it between her thighs when Nicole touched her, and she knows Nicole must have felt the same. 

 

At least they had that. 

 

She wishes she could see the face of the watch in her hand, to gauge how much time has passed since she had been taken, because she has no idea like this. She doesn’t know if she’s been here half a day or three, because time is untraceable with nothing but darkness for company. 

 

Her hope is fading like the warmth from her hands, and it’s getting more and more difficult to keep her head above the wild river trying to wash her body clean of it, so she closes her eyes again. She tries to recall the way Nicole’s heartbeat had sounded beneath her palm, and tries desperately, helplessly, to keep breathing. 

 

_ Because they’ll come for me _ , Waverly prays to the black.  _ They’ll come for me.  _

 

But it might not be in time.

  
  


-


	19. nineteen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Wild-West Monday everyone! 
> 
> Four more chapters to go. Gosh, I can't believe we're almost at the end. 
> 
> We're back to Nicole for this next chapter, picking up the morning after Waverly's disappearance. Thanks as always to @iamthegaysmurf for her fab beta help. As per usual, swing by [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigerlo_) if you have any comments or questions at all!

**NICOLE'S POV**

 

-

  
  


Nicole hasn’t slept a wink, not a fraction as she watches the night slowly recede outside the window above her where she lies still on Waverly’s bed, with Oakley’s head resting on her stomach. Not a wink. 

 

The pup’s presence calms her a little, not a lot, but enough to stop Nicole from running into the darkness in search of Waverly. Just enough. Because the last few hours have been the worst of Nicole’s life. Worse than the night that followed the news of her brother’s death; worse than the night her parents kicked her out of the house, never to return; worse even than Shae finally leaving her for a man, after everything they had been through together, after everything Nicole had risked for her. 

 

It’s worse than all of them combined, because Waverly is out there somewhere, cold and terrified and probably alone - although Nicole’s not sure if that’s better than her being not alone, or worse - and the simple thought of it makes Nicole feel sick. And scared. Very,  _ very _ scared. Because Waverly is somewhere, just out of Nicole’s reach, and Nicole knows the clock is ticking down, but she doesn’t know how fast. 

 

She’s reluctant to move and disturb Oakley, as deeply asleep as she can feel the dog is, but she knows the sun will be up soon, and she wants to be out and down to the jail as soon as she can be so they can begin their search again. 

 

Before she has a chance to move Oakley gently off to the side, the dog stirs, her ears sharp and instantly alert, looking around the room. Nicole responds immediately, looking around, too, reaching for her gun, loaded, by the side of the bed. She reaches down, but takes note of the fact that Oakley isn’t growling like she does when she senses danger, though she has most definitely noticed something. 

 

She moves up onto her knees on the bed, looking out into the street no longer cloaked totally in darkness, to see a figure that is unmistakably Gus making her way across the road. She hears Gus unlock and unbolt the door, before the door swings open and Gus speaks into the otherwise silent morning. 

 

“Nicole? It’s only me,” she says softly, not wanting to disturb her with too loud an announcement of her presence. 

 

She gets off the bed, making a point of walking across the board she knows squeaks so Gus will hear her, too, before calling out in reply. 

 

“It’s alright, Gus,” Nicole calls, making her way to the top of the steps so Gus can see her. “I’m awake.”

 

Gus reaches the bottom of the staircase in a few strides, peering up to Nicole with a scowl already formed upon seeing Nicole fully clothed. 

 

“Did you sleep?” Gus asks her with a frown when she reaches Nicole on the upper level. “Don’t you go lyin’ to me, either, if you didn’t, Nicole Haught.”

 

“No,” Nicole replies with a sigh, looking towards the barely disturbed covers of the bed. “Not at all. Did you?”

 

“Not by myself, no,” Gus answers with a growl, setting the small wrapped bundle down on the table Nicole and Waverly had eaten dinner on a few nights ago, before bending down to pick up Oakley, having made her way over to them from the bed. “Curtis talked me into taking one of the sleepin’ draughts Waverly had given us from her last batch…”

 

Gus trails off then, and Nicole knows exactly why she had, because she’s thinking exactly what Nicole is trying desperately not to think. That the batch Gus has might be the last one they ever receive, because Waverly might not come back to make another. 

 

But she cuts the thought off, because she can’t think like that. They can’t think like that. They have to keep in mind that the only outcome to this can be Waverly coming back safe and sound. It’s the only outcome. It has to be the only outcome. Because Nicole will accept nothing less than having Waverly next to her for the rest of her natural life. She won’t. Not now that she knows what it is to _know_ Waverly. 

 

“Anyway,” Gus says, bringing her back to the present. “I hope this little treasure did a good job of keepin’ you company.” 

 

“The best,” Nicole replies, smiling at Oakley, staring up at her quite happily from Gus’s arms. “She heard you comin’ before I did.”

 

“Cute and smart, huh, girl?” Gus asks the pup softly, looking to Oakley, not for the warmth or distraction she provides, but for what she truly is, a link to the person they’re both desperately missing. 

 

They’re quiet for a moment, and Nicole thinks she sees Gus’s eyes glaze over a little before she clears her throat and gestures her head towards the parcel on the table. 

 

“Eat,” Gus says rather unceremoniously, watching Nicole closely. “You won’t be no good to no one today if you fall over for lack of eatin’. I know you don’t want anythin’, and you feel sick to your stomach, but you’ve gotta get somethin’ in that belly of yours, alright? I don’t care what it is, as long as you eat.”

 

Nicole looks to her, aware that Gus is right, on more than one count, because the last thing she wants to do is eat something, but she knows she needs to, as well. She knows if it were anyone else they were about to leave to search for that Waverly would be telling her the same thing if she were able to sit across this table from her. And a thought settles in Nicole’s chest then, so powerful that it knocks the air from her lungs, but it’s more than a thought, it’s a  _ vision _ almost. 

 

Of Waverly sitting across this table from her, hair messy from the night‘s sleep, with nothing more than a blush across her cheeks and Nicole’s shirt on her back and evidence of Nicole’s kisses on her neck, her smile brilliant in the early morning light, so clear and vivid and real that she may as well be there and not simply a figment of Nicole’s imagination. 

 

The vision lingers for a moment before a blow hits her full and dull and low in the stomach, a realisation that the vision is nothing more than that. It’s only a possibility if they find Waverly. If they find her alive. 

 

She can hear Gus calling her name vaguely as she watches the vision dissolve before her eyes, turning to Gus only once the spectre of Waverly has disappeared completely and there’s nothing sitting at the table with her. 

 

Nothing. Which is exactly what awaits her if they don’t find Waverly alive. 

 

She’s not new to this work, she’s not green, she knows the likelihood of finding Waverly alive and well decreases significantly after the first night, and is almost gone after the second night, which is why she needs her wits about her. 

 

Which is why she needs to eat. 

 

Nicole’s vision settles on Gus finally, watching her with a worried frown, and Nicole smiles, hoping it provides some reassurance to Gus that she isn’t about to fall apart, before reaching for the wrapped bundle across the table, unfolding it to reveal a small mountain of food inside. 

 

“Will you eat with me?” Nicole asks quietly, breaking off part of a buttered roll and looking to Gus. “Before I go…”

 

“‘Course I will,” Gus answers softly, sitting down in the seat across from Nicole. In  _ Waverly’s _ seat. 

 

It almost makes Nicole start, it almost makes her reach out and tell Gus  _ no _ , but she manages to control herself at the very last moment, just quick enough that Gus doesn’t notice a thing. They eat in silence for a while before Nicole looks up to Gus with a soft smile, watching the older woman slip Oakley a small piece of bread. 

 

“Thank you for thinkin’ of me,” Nicole says quietly, gesturing down to the breakfast. “It’s very kind, with a number of other worries in your head.”

 

“You’re my second biggest worry at the moment, girl, of course I’m gonna think of you,” Gus says, and the thoughtfulness and the care in her voice takes Nicole aback. “Besides, it’s me who should be thankin’ you.”

 

“Whatever for?” Nicole asks, genuinely curious, watching Gus intently. “I haven’t done anythin’. If I had, there’d be another person sittin’ at this table right now.”

 

“Have you always been this hard on yourself?” Gus questions her with a frown, shifting Oakley in her arms a little. 

 

“I don’t know,” Nicole answers, surprised by the question. “I guess so?”

 

“Well, it needs to stop now,” Gus replies firmly, and Nicole can tell by the look on her face that she’s in no mood to take Nicole’s arguments. “You’ve done more than anyone else has to try and find our Waverly. You’ve done more to bring her to life in the past week than I’ve ever seen before. I might not understand the uh…relationship the two of you have, but I know that it’s good for her. And I think it’s good for you, too.”

 

“It’s been a very long time since I’ve had someone talk to me like you do, Gus. Not since before my mother threw me out of her house for wantin’ to do a man’s job,” Nicole offers softly, and she can see Gus on edge, waiting to see how she’s going to finish that sentence. “I hadn’t realised how much I missed it. Havin’ someone to worry about me. Havin’ someone to care about me.”

 

“I think you’ll find you have a small army of people that care about you, Nicole,” Gus says with a soft smile that warms Nicole’s soul. “And you’ve been here barely a week. I know you’ll never be alone again, not here, regardless of…”

 

_ Regardless of whether we find Waverly or not _ , is the rest of the sentence, only Gus can’t bear to say the words aloud, so she trails off instead, but Nicole knows. 

 

She reaches across the table, taking Gus’s hand in her own before speaking with a conviction that she doesn’t have, but it doesn’t matter in that moment. What does is that Gus has hope, even if it’s minuscule in weight. 

 

“We’re gonna find her,” Nicole says, her voice breaking over the third word, holding her gaze strong regardless. “We’re gonna find her, Gus. I won’t come back until we do.”

 

“Yes, you damn well will,” Gus replies sharply, holding onto Nicole’s hand for a moment longer. “Do you think I’m gonna lose two of you? No. You’re gonna get yourself back here safe, regardless of whether you find her or not. I’ll ride out and drag you back myself if I have to, Deputy.”

 

Nicole doesn’t reply immediately, trying to calm her breathing first, her exhale shaking her chest when it leaves her, and it’s hard to look Gus in the eye, because she knows Gus means what she’s saying, but how can she come back and face this woman who has loved Waverly Earp for two decades without Waverly safe and well? 

 

“I can hear you thinkin’, girl,” Gus says with a scowl, giving her hand a squeeze again. “You comin’ back empty handed isn’t a failure, you hear me? You not takin’ care of yourself while you’re searchin’ is. I do not want you thinkin’ that you can’t come back without her, understand? Don’t break this old woman’s heart twice.”

 

Nicole laughs softly then, dryly, because of course Gus can almost read her mind. Of course Gus knows exactly what she’s thinking, but it helps, too, more than anything thus far has, to assuage some of her guilt. It makes her feel like she won’t have everything cave around her if they don’t succeed in finding Waverly. It’ll only destroy most of her, but she’ll still have a home. 

 

Even if it’s not really a home anymore without her heart there, at least she’ll have somewhere to lay her head at night. 

 

Nicole glances behind her, to the light starting to move over the top of the buildings on the other side of the street, and she knows it’s time. So does Gus, if the sigh that issues from her is anything to go by. 

 

“I promise I’ll come back,” Nicole says, quiet but serious. “I promise I will, but you have to promise me somethin’, too. I know you’re more than capable, but until we find whoever’s responsible for this, don’t stray too far from Curtis. Please?”

 

“You have my word, Deputy,” Gus replies with a solemn nod, and Nicole smiles in relief at her agreement. “Now, will you take this with you? I’m sure the boys down there’ll eat it if you don’t.”

 

“Of course,” Nicole replies, nodding easily at Gus’s thoughtfulness. “I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.”

 

“I’ll take the pup for the day?” Gus asks, and it’s less a question and more of a statement, but Nicole nods, regardless. 

 

“If you don’t mind. It would be a comfort knowin’ she has you and Curtis today if she won’t be too much a burden. I’m sure Chrissy could mind her if need be,” Nicole says appreciatively, wrapping up the bundle of leftovers, feeling a little better with food in her belly as she stands. 

 

“No, don’t be silly,” Gus replies, swatting her hand at Nicole as she stands, too. “She’s no burden at all. And she’s settled at the Inn now. It’d be a waste to try and get her settled anywhere else.”

 

“Thank you, Gus,” Nicole says with as heartfelt a tone as she can produce. “For everythin’, I mean. Not just…”

 

“You’re welcome, Nicole,” Gus finishes for her, pulling Nicole in for a quick, fierce, one-armed embrace, juggling Oakley with the other. “And for what it’s worth, your mama was a fool for sendin’ you away. I won’t say I’m wholly displeased with the end outcome of that, but I’m sorry for the hurt it must’ve caused you.”

 

Nicole wants to reply, but her throat is thicker than molasses, and she doesn’t think she could, even if she tried to, so she nods instead, her eyes welling at the woman who has been more of a mother to her in the last five days than her own mother has been in the last decade. 

 

She breathes out slowly, and she knows that Gus knows what she wants to say, what she would have said if she could, so she doesn’t bother to try and talk over the invisible hand around her throat, she just nods instead, and Gus smiles in reply. 

 

“Come on,” Gus says, clearing her throat to fill the silence, taking Nicole by the arm. “You’ve got places to be, Deputy. I don’t need to be a burden on your presence any longer.”

 

“You’re never a burden, Gus,” Nicole says firmly, waiting to allow Gus to walk down the steps in front of her, securing the food in the satchel that she collects quickly from where she’d left it by the table the night before. 

 

“You won’t be sayin’ that when I come callin’ with a chore,” Gus says with a sharp laugh. “I’ll be a burden in no time. Especially seein’ as you’re about three times as capable as that damn Wynonna is. She’s strong enough, but she’s got a head like a damn bull if she loses her calm. Thank goodness she has Doc around her most of the time, or we’d be down there bailin’ her out of Nedley’s cells most mornin’s.”

 

“They’re very well suited, I think,” Nicole says, smiling at the similar expression on Gus’s face once they reach the bottom of the steps. “I think they’re good for each other, if I’m honest.”

 

“Much the same as Waverly and yourself,” Gus says as they near the door to walk out onto the street. “Do you understand what I meant when I said there were similarities between the two of you now?”

 

When Nicole turns around to Gus, she finds Gus wearing a knowing smirk, and she knows Gus’s question was completely rhetorical.

 

She can’t deny the insinuation, even if she wanted to, because Gus is absolutely, completely right. Because Doc is calm and rational and logical - all things that she is, too - and he seems like he’d lay his life down in an instant for either of the surviving Earps, and Nicole is beginning to understand that she would do so, in a heartbeat, as well. 

 

Nicole gives her a little half-scowl in response, acknowledgement of Gus’s perceptiveness and a reluctant agreement, but without dignifying the slightly cheeky question with an actual answer. 

 

“Lord knows how those girls attract exactly the right kind of people to their sides,” Gus says with a shrug when they begin to walk across the road to the Inn after Nicole locks and bolts the door to the shop for her. “I know they draw some rotten folk in, too, but at least they’ve got the good graces to choose the people they should.” 

 

“They’re certainly charismatic, the both of them,” Nicole agrees, nodding her head as they come to the door of the Inn. “Perhaps more than I’ve ever seen before, come to think of it.”

 

“It’s the Earp charm,” Curtis says, moving from behind the desk to greet Nicole, winking to his wife. “Their daddy had it, too, around the bullishness. It’s why he made such a good Sheriff, most of the time.”

 

“Good mornin’, Curtis,” Nicole says to him softly, inclining her head in his direction, her frame lightening just a little with his smile in reply. 

 

“How you holdin’ up there, Deputy?” Curtis asks kindly, moving to scratch Oakley’s chin. 

 

“I’m okay,” Nicole replies honestly, finding no reason not to be completely open with them both. “I’ll be better, I think, once I get out and start lookin’.”

 

“Don’t let us hold you back,” Curtis replies, his face unusually serious for a moment, and Nicole is half expecting some sort of reprimand, but he pulls her into an embrace instead. 

 

He holds tight for a moment, and Nicole relaxes completely into the gesture, closing her eyes and allowing herself to be  _ Nicole _ for a moment, and not  _ Deputy Haught _ . Allowing herself to be comforted, and it helps to invigorate her in a way that she hadn’t known she needed. Because they care for her - deeply so, it would seem - and that means everything to someone adrift without family for such a long time. 

 

“Look after yourself, alright?” Curtis says when he draws back, his hands on Nicole’s shoulders, looking her in the eye as Gus had done. 

 

“I will,” Nicole replies directly to him before looking over at Gus, speaking to her also. “I will, I promise. Hand on my heart.”

 

They give her one final nod, and with that, she takes her leave of them both, dropping her hat onto her head when she steps out into the street again. 

 

The sun is beginning to rise now, well above the top of the buildings around her, a few people daring to venture out of their homes with the safety of the light at their back, and Nicole nods reassuringly to them all as she makes her way down to the jail. 

 

She’s almost there without incident, so close to Nedley standing out in front of the jail, watching her approach, when she sees it. Nicole waves to him before throwing a glance around her to see if anyone else is about to join them, and she catches sight of another  **MISSING** poster. 

 

Only this one is different to the others. 

 

This one has Waverly’s face on it. 

 

The sight of it stops her in her tracks, and she clutches at her chest in an attempt to comfort the low, dull, thudding ache that begins at seeing Waverly’s likeness. It’s good, she’ll give the artist that, so good that she can hear Waverly’s voice in her head loud and clear upon seeing it. An almost perfect recollection. 

 

Something is off, though. The angle of her lips or the bridge of her nose or something that Nicole can’t quite pinpoint, and that only makes Nicole feel worse, because if they can’t find Waverly, or if the worst happens, all she will have left is her own recollection of Waverly for the rest of her life, and what if it fails like this? What if she can no longer remember the exact curve of Waverly’s naked back, or the height her chest rises in sleep, or the warmth of her hand? 

 

What if she forgets it all? 

 

“Haught,” Nedley calls to her, walking over to see her, but carefully, as one might approach a spooked animal. “You alright there?”

 

“Fine, sir,” she answers automatically, but he sees the truth on her face instantly, narrowing his eyes. “I mean, I’m… I wasn’t expectin’ to see anythin’ like this. I know it’s… it just took me by surprise is all.”

 

“I know it’s confrontin’, but we need to do everythin’ we can, huh?” Nedley says with an almost paternal tone to his voice. “I shoulda warned you before you saw anythin’, though, Nicole. I’m sorry.”

 

It’s her name that almost breaks the carefully constructed line of strength in her then, because Nedley only uses Nicole when  _ Haught _ or  _ Deputy _ don’t serve the purpose he intends to convey with his words, and she has to tense her stomach and ball her fists to stop from crying in front of him in the middle of the street. 

 

It’s hard, dealing with emotions this intense, because she’s just not used to it, she’s not used to feeling so much. She’s never felt so much about anything before. Not her brother’s death, not Shae’s leaving her, not her exile, nothing. It’s crippling almost, how significantly such deep fear affects her in every possible way. 

 

It hurts. Good god, it hurts. 

 

“You’re right,” Nicole says finally, sniffing a little before bracing herself to look at Nedley. “You’re right, sir. We need these here. It was the right thing to do. I’m sorry, I hadn’t intended to…”

 

“Don’t apologise for worryin’ or bein’ scared,” Nedley says shaking his head. “It’s good, we can use that. Emotion we can use.”

 

He puts his hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eye, and she knows instantly that Nedley is just as invested in finding Waverly as she is, that he’s as determined as she is, and that does more to reassure her than almost anything else does. 

 

“Are the others…” Nicole begins before her throat sticks, but Nedley finishes for her. 

 

“They’re inside. Doc and Wynonna just arrived, too,” Nedley says by way of an answer, gesturing to the jail. “We’re waitin’ on another deputy to arrive so we can leave, but we’re ready.”

 

“You’re comin’ with again?” Nicole asks him, turning to make her way towards the jail with him. 

 

“Sure am,” he replies, looking to her with a nod. “Thought I’d head out with you today, if you’ll have me.”

 

“Of course, sir,” Nicole returns, a little brighter, welcoming the opportunity to ride with Nedley. “I’d be honoured.”

 

“Thought it was about time you and I spent a few hours together,” Nedley says a little gruffly, and Nicole suspects it’s more than only that. That he’s worried for her, too, perhaps. 

 

“I think Doc will be pleased to have Wynonna at his side,” Nicole says, thinking that should they find anything today, good or bad, it’s far better to have Doc as near to Wynonna as possible. 

 

“He seemed to be, when I filled them in a moment ago,” Nedley says with a reluctant smile. “They both did, in fact. The sooner Wynonna sets that right, the better. Even I can tell she’s mad for the boy.”

 

“I think she will soon,” Nicole says, watching them interact through the door before they see her, Wynonna’s head on Doc’s shoulder. “I think she’ll realise life is too fragile to push happiness away before long.”

 

Nedley grumbles something that sounds like an affirmation before they walk through the doorway of the jail, and Wynonna and Doc turn to her immediately. 

 

“I’m surprised you got away from Gus and Curtis so quick,” Wynonna says when she walks to Nicole, wrapping her up in a quick embrace. “We saw you on the way in. Thought she might force a full meal in you before she let you leave.”

 

“Already eaten,” Nicole says when they part, setting the leftovers onto the table next to them. “She came to the shop early.”

 

“How are you, Miss Haught?” Doc asks when Wynonna makes an instant move for Gus’s cooking, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.

 

“Worried,” Nicole says honestly, and he nods in reply. “More and more so as time passes. Did you sleep any?”

 

“Some small time this mornin’, but not truly,” Doc answers with a shake of his head, watching Wynonna move across the room to speak to Nedley. “Wynonna fell asleep on the porch chair, around four I think, for an hour or so. She didn’t want to go inside, lest anybody come callin’.” 

 

_ He must’ve stayed awake so Wynonna could find some rest, however fleeting _ , Nicole thinks with a ripple across her heart.  _ God, he truly loves her _ . 

 

“You’re a very good man, Doc,” Nicole says softly, taking Doc’s hand, looking over to Wynonna, too, taking in the deep lines of stress on her brow as she runs through something on the map with Nedley. 

 

“I try,” Doc says solemnly, his eyes travelling to Wynonna again, and the wistful, worried look on his face resonates with Nicole deeply _ , _ because she knows if things were reversed, if Wynonna were the one taken and not Waverly, she would be here looking at Waverly with exactly the same expression as Doc is looking at Wynonna with now. 

 

“Alright, folks,” Nedley announces to the room, looking to Doc and Nicole and a few others assembled there, ready to leave. “You have your assignments. Deputy Haught and I are headin’ out to the west, if anybody needs us urgently. Otherwise, I suggest we all reconvene in the late afternoon to organise one last run before nightfall, if we’re all up to it.”

 

“Yes, sir,” a few of the deputies echo, Nicole included, and the group starts to disperse immediately, everyone breaking off into pairs until only one of the other deputies, Wynonna, Doc, Nicole, and Nedley remain. 

 

“You know what to do?” Nedley asks them both, to which Wynonna and Doc nod before Wynonna turns to address Nedley. 

 

“You mind her, alright, Sheriff?” Wynonna says to him firmly. “I won’t tell my sister I’ve lost Haught once we find her. I won’t save her, only to have her killed all over again if anything happens to Nicole.”

 

Wynonna looks to her after, and she doesn’t say anything, but there’s a plea in her eyes the likes of which Nicole hasn’t seen before. She’s saying  _ be careful, please, be careful for my sister, if not for us _ . 

 

So Nicole nods, only once, firmly, but Wynonna smiles tightly in reply, in recognition, before turning to Doc. They make their way out then, swinging up into their saddles, and Nicole hears the thumping of hooves signalling their departure a few seconds later. 

 

“I’ll only be a moment, Haught,” Nedley says, turning towards the small lump of bedding in the opposite, quiet corner of the room that Nicole had assumed must have been Chrissy still sleeping. 

 

She can see Chrissy rouse, can see her reach for her father’s hand while Nedley speaks to her softly before she sits up, just enough to wrap her arms around his shoulders. Chrissy slides back beneath the covers without waking up fully, and Nedley and the last deputy exchange a look that almost feels private in its intensity before Nedley nods and walks back over to Nicole. 

 

“Need anythin’, Haught?” Nedley asks Nicole with a slight roughness in his voice that Nicole suspects has something to do with farewelling his daughter, but she shakes her head and turns towards the door. 

 

“No, sir,” Nicole says, mentally preparing herself as she takes a step towards the street, towards her fate, towards a future with Waverly. Or maybe without her. 

 

“Good,” Nedley says, watching her closely, carefully, looking beyond the veneer to her heart before he nods in understanding. “Good. We can go.”

  
  


-

  
  


The walk to the stables is mostly silent, Nedley riding alongside her as she walks quickly, and Nicole’s surprised to find an empty porch, with no Mattie waiting for them. 

 

A hit of concern strikes her in the belly, because Mattie should be here, and Nicole starts to feel dread creeping down her arms, before Nedley turns to her.

 

“She’s already out searchin’ with one of the other deputies,” Nedley explains, seeing Nicole’s obviously worried expression. “She came in before first light with that horse dog of hers, reportin’ for duty.”

 

“I’m glad,” Nicole sighs in relief, pulling open the door to the stables when they reach it, Nedley dismounting to walk alongside her. 

 

The stables are just as Nicole had left them the night before when she’d settled Lady Jane in, everything in order, and it’s with a significant relief that she greets her old friend this morning, the horse’s presence soothing her wild heart. 

 

“Hi, girl,” Nicole says quietly when she reaches Lady Jane’s stall, running her hand down the horse’s neck, closing her eyes for a moment to let the comfort of the animal’s nearness sink in. “We’re in a real bind now, my friend. Do you think you can help us?”

 

Lady Jane whinnies in a way that Nicole has come to understand means an agreement of sorts, and she allows herself a brief smile before leading the animal out of the stall. 

 

Saddled and ready, Nicole swings up onto her back as soon as they’re out of the barn, waiting for Nedley to do the same before they turn nose towards the road and Nedley heels his stallion into a trot. 

 

They don’t talk a great deal on the way out to the first of their destinations, but Nicole doesn’t mind. She’s as lost in her own thoughts as Nedley is his, and the nearness of him is all the comfort she needs for the moment. She relishes the exertion when Nedley urges them both into a gallop for a while, closing her eyes against the wind, trusting in the animal beneath her completely as she tries to quell the sick feeling rolling around in her stomach like lead. 

 

Nicole loves the feeling, the burn, of tired muscles after a hard day’s ride, and she knows she’ll savour the feeling, that she’ll stretch out the burn of tired limbs later, if they don’t… If they don’t…

 

Or if they  _ do _ …

 

She’ll need something to focus on, something, anything else. Anything else besides the fact that they came back empty-handed. Or the fact that they came back with something none of them ever wanted to see, as long as they may live. Something that will haunt them all for the rest of their lives. 

 

But that can’t happen. She can’t let that happen. They have to find Waverly, they just have to. Because Nicole doesn’t know how she’s going to hold herself together if they don’t. 

  
  


-

  
  


She’s broken. 

 

Exhausted and beaten and broken. Because they haven’t found a goddamn thing. 

 

Nedley makes the call for them to head back in when the sun turns in the late afternoon, and Nicole argues with him immediately.  _ Just a little bit longer,  _ she says, _ just a little bit longer, please, sir. _

 

He agrees with a defeated nod of his head, and they search one last property before Nedley calls halt for the last time, Nicole’s shoulders bending at the sound she’s spent the last hour waiting for.

 

“We need to go, Haught,” Nedley says with a soft voice, turning his horse around, back towards Purgatory. Back towards hopelessness. “We need to head back home.”

 

She knows he’s right. She knows they need to meet the others and rendezvous, in the event that they’ve found something, but Nicole knows in her heart that they haven’t. She can  _ feel _ it. 

 

She can taste it, too, like blood in her mouth, me tallic against her tongue, tormenting her with its bite. They haven’t found what it is they’re seeking. 

 

They haven’t found Waverly. 

 

The better part of the day has been spent in silence, largely owing to the fact that they’ve been riding too hard to speak, but Nedley sets a slower pace riding back in, slow enough for Nicole to catch sight of Nedley watching her with a worried frown. 

 

“Haught?” Nedley says to her softly once the town enters the very edge of their sight, and the dread begins to settle heavier over Nicole’s limbs like a tangible weight at what they might find when they return.

 

If she’s honest with herself, that’s why she’s tried to draw out their time away from the jail for as long as possible. Because if she’s wrong, if they have found something, her life crumbles when they reach their destination. But here, in the heat and the dust, Waverly is still alive, her heart beating in time with Nicole’s in spite of the distance, just as it had when they had been breast to breast. 

 

“Yes, sir,” Nicole answers automatically, trying her utmost to keep the despair out of her voice. 

 

“I need you to walk me through what’s goin’ on in that head of yours,” Nedley says with a sharply perceptive look on his face. “Because I can hear your thoughts from here, and I need you to understand somethin’.”

 

“What is it, sir?” Nicole asks, even though she thinks she knows exactly what it is that Nedley’s about to say to her. 

 

“That it’s not a failin’ on you, that we haven’t found anythin’, and it doesn't mean we won’t, alright?” he says a little gruffly, but his eyes are soft. “That we cannot give up hope until there’s truth in front of us. Until there’s fact. Until we know for certain, alright? That’s the only thing we can do.”

 

Nicole nods in lieu of an actual answer, because she’s not sure she could reply without her voice breaking, winding the leather strap of the reins around her hand, hard, until it’s firm enough to pinch the skin. 

 

“I know Waverly has come to be a close confidant of yours these last few days, but I’ve known her for as long as she’s been alive,” Nedley says, leaving his eyes cast outwards, as if to give Nicole some privacy. “And if there’s one thing I know about that young woman, it’s that she’s a survivor, Haught. She endures. More than anyone I’ve ever met. More than her sister, even. If anyone’s goin’ to see somethin’ like this through, it’s Waverly Earp, alright?”

 

He gives her a moment to take in his words before he clears his throat softly and looks to Nicole, who is trying her hardest not to break at the sound of Waverly’s name falling from his mouth 

 

“I know you’re worried, Haught. I know you’re afraid, but so am I. So are Wynonna and Doc, and Gus and Curtis, and that means somethin’. It means you’re not alone. Which is exactly what Waverly would want,” Nedley says firmly. “It means that none of this is your fault. That there isn’t blame to place on yourself. Do you hear me? As your superior, Nicole, I’m tellin’ you that you’re forbidden to blame yourself, that you’re forbidden to think that you alone have failed. Because it’s not on you. It’s on all of us. Together.”

 

“I just…” Nicole starts before she shakes her head, breaking off. “I think about how scared she must be, and it makes me feel sick to my stomach, Sheriff. I’ve never felt so powerless in my life.”

 

“We can’t let that get the better of us,” Nedley says kindly, but firmly, too, with a rigidity in his voice that calms her. “You know we can’t. I know that you can’t uncouple the emotion in this the same as if it weren’t Waverly, but we have to keep our heads up. You know we do.”

 

Nicole doesn’t bother to tell him that he’s right, so she lifts her chin high instead, even though she doesn’t feel strong enough to hold it there, and he nods in acknowledgement. Because she knows it’s what Waverly would tell her to do if she were here. She knows it’s what Waverly would want. 

 

Even though she scarcely has the strength to do so. 

 

They make for the jail directly instead of stopping in at the stables on their way into town, and Nicole can feel the tension growing between the two of them as the jail grows larger and larger and they get closer and closer. 

 

_ It’s okay, _ Nicole thinks to herself with a shaky breath.  _ Whatever is waiting for you there, you’ll survive it, Haught. Lord knows you’ve survived enough already.   _

 

But they don’t get as far as the front door of the jail, because Wynonna and Doc intercept them first, catching Nicole and Nedley the second they dismount. Nicole’s stomach drops and the tension leaves her legs because Wynonna looks…Wynonna looks like they’ve found Waverly. 

 

She doesn’t say a thing to Nicole or Nedley, she just leads them around the side of the jail to a small shack behind the main building. It’s locked, but not barred; a place to store what they don’t have room for in the main structure. 

 

Or a place to store something that shouldn’t  _ be _ in the main structure. 

 

They near the door and Nicole realises that whatever is in this small shack, they haven’t seen either, the fresh sheen of sweat on Doc’s brow indicative of the fact that they’ve only just arrived, too. 

 

Someone inside must have sent them out to look at the same time as Nicole and Nedley had arrived. 

 

Nicole feels like she’s about to faint or scream or run or something _ , _ because laid out on a makeshift table in the shack is the body of a young woman, Waverly’s size, with hair colour the same as Waverly’s, and Nicole has to reach out for something to stabilize herself against - Wynonna, in this instance, due to her proximity to Nicole’s grip - as she nears the dead figure’s face, bracing herself to break her own heart and lose the light from the world… 

 

…but it isn’t Waverly. 

 

Thank  _ god _ , it isn’t Waverly. 

 

Wynonna sags at Nicole’s side, bowing, bracing herself with her hands on her knees and her legs bent, breathing shakily beneath Nicole’s now comforting hand on her shoulder. 

 

“It’s alright,” Nicole says to no one, and herself, thumping the heel of her other hand against her chest, trying to restart her stalled heart. “It’s not her. Wynonna, it’s not her.”

 

“The farmer’s daughter,” Nedley says, filling the gap in her own knowledge, removing his hat in respect, in echo of Nicole’s own action. “Christ, they’ll be devastated.” 

 

Doc walks around the side of the body, his own hat in his hands as he inspects the young woman carefully, his eyes grey with shock. Wynonna straightens up next to Nicole then, but Nicole doesn’t move her hand off of Wynonna’s shoulder, needing the contact as much as Wynonna seems to. 

 

“She’s still okay,” Wynonna says to the room, but mostly, Nicole thinks, to her, repeating her words like a mantra. “She’s still okay. She’s still okay.”

 

“Where was she found?” Nicole asks delicately, dropping her hand from Wynonna’s shoulder so she can take a step towards the body and inspect it herself. 

 

“The old well on the edge of town,” Doc answers for her, glancing up to meet her eye. “It’s not a place many folks go nowadays, not after that young girl fell in and drowned a few years ago.”

 

“The well,” Nicole repeats, walking around the table again, trying to find some clue on or around the body,  _ any _ clue that might lead them to Waverly. “Why the well? Why there?”

 

She looks to Nedley, whose eyes are narrowed in concentration, trying to deduce his own conclusions from the body of the young woman. 

 

“I don’t know,” Nedley says, shaking his head. “Christ, I don’t know. There aren’t any similarities between the well and the homestead. Besides the fact that…”

 

“People died there?” Wynonna finishes evenly for him, a hint of cynicism in her voice. “It’s alright, Sheriff. I’m a big girl, you can say it.”

 

“But why? Why take her all the way out there? And to the well? Why move them around, when they’re more likely to be caught? There’s gotta be a reason why they’re botherin’,” Nicole asks again, her eyes narrowing in on a small black smudge on the girl’s cheek, almost imperceptible, but that’s exactly what Nicole is looking for. Imperceptible. 

 

“Maybe that has some significance for them?” Doc offers, lowering himself into a crouch so he can see the young woman’s hands. “Death. Places where death has been.”

 

And then Nicole catches something out of the corner of her eye, a flash of black when Doc picks the girl’s hand up carefully. 

 

Soot.

 

There’s soot on the girl’s hand. And her cheek. And on the wall outside the Inn. And down the alley of the confectionery shop where the first woman had gone missing. 

 

_ Soot _ . They’re keeping the girls somewhere where there’s soot nearby, or they’re coming into contact with it regularly enough that it makes for a very good place to start. 

 

Hope blooms like a spring flower in Nicole’s chest then, full and beautiful. The feeling almost foreign. 

 

“Look at this,” Nicole says, moving around the table quickly gesturing to the pale hand Doc is holding. “Soot. She has soot on her hands-“

 

“And on her feet,” Wynonna replies with an equal swell of excitement in her own voice. “It’s on her feet, too.”

 

“There was soot down that alley the day you took me to investigate the confectioner’s shop, Sheriff, and there was soot on the wall outside the Inn, where Waverly was taken,” Nicole says quickly, but clearly, waiting for the others to meet her in her discovery. “Soot. There must be soot where they’re keeping them. Where Waverly is. Is there anythin’ that might-“

 

“The mines,” Doc says hastily, his eyes bright. “The old abandoned mines on the town limits. There was some sort of sabotage a decade back, an accident, when I was young, and a good number of miners were killed as a result.”

 

“God, you’re right man,” Nedley replies with a look of realisation on his own face. “You’re right. The mines.”

 

“Waverly’s there, I know she is,” Wynonna says to Nicole, her hand gripping Nicole’s forearm tightly, but Nicole doesn’t mind at all, because it’s a breakthrough. 

 

_ It’s a breakthrough, _ Nicole thinks giddily. it’s the first breakthrough they’ve had in a week, just in time, just as the sun looks set to begin the drop into the horizon. 

 

“We need to go,” Nicole says, looking at the fading light around them, squeezing Wynonna’s hand tightly in return, her heart full. “We need to go,  _ now _ .”

  
  


-


	20. twenty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi team! Happy Monday!
> 
> Goodness me, I've been so real life busy this week, I actually thought I was going to have to push this update back because I wasn't sure I'd make it through my last read through in time for this morning, but I pulled through at the last second for you guys (read: got up very early this morning to finish it) so I really hope you all enjoy it!
> 
> We're back to our poor Waverly for this chapter, which is kind of kind of a 'height of the action' chapter, if that makes any sense, which is so exciting but a bit sad at the same time. Me, sad that is. Not story sad. This chapter is great, just you read on and see. Huge thanks as always to @iamthegaysmurf and her wonderful beta. As always if anyone has any questions or queries, you can drop by [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) or  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigerlo_). 
> 
> Good grief, just two chapters and the epilogue to go! Can you believe it? x

**WAVERLY’S POV**

 

-

 

Waverly knows she doesn’t have a lot of time.

 

The small sliver of hope Waverly’s been holding onto that the others might find her - that Nicole might find her - is growing thinner and thinner by the second.

 

She’s bound still, but she’s not in the depths of what she now knows was the old mine any longer. She’s on her knees with her hands in front of her and the first hint of dim light from the stars shining above her. There’s little to no light from the moon, though, completely new tonight, only the dullest hint of a few scattered constellations visible in the sky.

 

Her captors are moving behind her, like smoke, both of them dressed almost ritually in black, muttering quietly to one another in a way that Waverly knows to mean this is something they’ve done many times, beginning the final preparations for the act that will kill her, under the crisp and beautiful dusk.

 

 _At least I got to see one last sunset,_ Waverly thinks cynically. _If only I got to see Nicole, too._

 

Nicole, who has kept her from sheer panic. Nicole, who has kept her warm in the pitch black darkness of the last day. Nicole, who she knows she will love before long.  Or would have. If she had been given the time to.

 

 _Time_ , Waverly thinks suddenly. Time. Maybe that’s what she needs. What the others need. What Nicole and Wynonna and Doc need. Just a little more _time_.

 

“It’s not going to work,” Waverly throws over her shoulder, trying to catch their attention. Trying to stall them. Trying to do anything that might buy her some precious reprieve.

 

“Because the deputy bedded you?” Herman asks, looking up from the mortar and pestle in his hands to Waverly, rolling his eyes. “We’ve already told you. It doesn’t count.”

 

“Your ignorance is going to cost you whatever it is you need a virgin for,” Waverly returns calmly, and Herman shakes his head, but Hetty pauses, stalling the motion of whatever it is she’s playing with in her hands. “Believe what you will, but I know the truth. I can feel the truth.”

 

Hetty takes a step closer, as though trying to discern whether Waverly is lying or not, and Waverly catches sight of something that she hadn’t been able to in see the dark of the inner mine. A large ceremonial-looking knife in her hands. She wields it expertly, passing it between both hands easily, as though it were an extension of her own body, as though it were weightless, too, which Waverly knows it can’t be, not by the heavily jeweled hilt and the metal that looks too shiny to be anything but pure silver.

 

“If you’re goin’ to kill me, I deserve to know what it’s for,” Waverly says with as much defiance as she can muster, trying to distract the woman into stalling. “What is the knife for? What is he crushing? Belladonna? Are you going to poison me? Like a coward? Or are you going to cut me?”

 

“We’re going to do both,” Hetty says, passing the knife to her brother, who begins muttering something beneath his breath before she crouches down in front of Waverly, taking Waverly’s chin in her hand. “Both makes the end result stronger.”

 

“Paris, wasn’t it? Where we learned that?” Herman says next to them, halting his whispers for a moment, looking to his sister curiously. “No, South America? Didn’t you borrow it from the people with that exquisite knowledge of metal?”

 

“And poison, too,” Hetty says, tightening her grip on Waverly’s chin, enough that her long nails pinch into her skin. “Such pretty poisons. Some quick, and some slow, and some more painful than a knife. You call us cowards. You wouldn’t. Not if you knew what we have done.”

 

“I don’t understand,” Waverly says, trying to pull away sharply from the woman’s grip. But she’s strong, much stronger than Waverly’s expecting, and she can’t free herself, she can’t even pull away an inch. “Why do you need a ceremony? Why do you need to kill anybody? What do you need us for?”

 

“So many questions,” Hetty says, rolling her eyes, as though Waverly searching for the justification behind her impending murder is a bore. “I suppose there’s no harm in telling you now. You’re not going to live long enough to tell anyone else.”

 

“Must you play with your prey, sister?” Herman asks in exasperation, his voice annoyed. “Just shut it and let her panic in silence. The others didn’t talk nearly as much.”

 

“Others?” Waverly asks quickly, looking between the two of them when Hetty loosens her grip, standing up to look down at her. “How many others? Where are they now?”

 

“Incessant,” Herman grouses before leveling his glare on Waverly directly. “And they’re dead, of course. Just like you’re about to be.”

 

“ _Dead_ ?” Waverly asks breathlessly, as if they’d knocked the air from her, her heart stopping cold in her chest at the man’s flippant declaration. _Dead, they can’t be dead,_ she thinks, shaking her head before looking to him hopelessly. “They’re all dead? They’re not… you’re not hiding them somewhere for tonight?”

 

“Why would we?” Hetty answers casually, as if their deaths were nothing but a plain and simple fact. “You’re the final act, Waverly Earp. They all had to die before you.”

 

“But… where are they?” Waverly asks, confused for a moment, looking around as if for proof of this. “Why aren’t their bodies here? Why am I here, but they’re not…?”

 

“We left the other bodies where they were killed, silly girl,” Herman answers, slowly and carefully coating the blade with the crushed belladonna before looking back to her.

 

“Why?” Waverly asks again, trying to keep her voice measured and not panicked so they’re more inclined to continue answering her. “Why kill them in other places? Why not kill us all at once?”

 

“Because we needed five,” Hetty answers for her brother so he can continue to speak beneath his breath, turning the knife over in his hands, almost cockily, with no reservation at all in telling her, which only makes Waverly panic a little more. “We needed five of you, and we had to take your lives upon sites with an echo of death. We always have to.”

 

“What do you mean _always_?” Waverly asks as her mind spins, because they’ve made more than one allusion now to the fact that this isn’t the first time they’ve committed a series of murders.

 

“They never asked so many questions when women had less power,” Hetty throws to her brother, clearly irritated. “This freedom is irksome.”

 

“Enough,” Herman says firmly, standing finally, and Waverly feels her heart pound quicker and quicker, the fear rising violently in her throat as he makes his way towards her, handing his sister the knife. “I’ve had enough of this talking. It’s time, sister.”

 

The woman takes a step out from the cover of the mine to view the empty sky, no moon visible at all in the almost complete darkness, the sun retreating over the horizon, and she nods, too, signaling her agreement.

 

“Wait,” Waverly says desperately, everything else stripped away in a moment of panic, trying to shuffle back on her knees, away from them. “Wait, you know this isn’t going to work. You know it’s not, I can see it in your eyes.”

 

She can see it again, only a second's hesitation, before the woman shakes it from her hands and walks towards her, and Waverly knows it’s all over. It’s going to happen with or without her reasoning.

 

She’s going to die.

 

She’s going to die, but she’s sure as hell not going to give herself to them like a beast for slaughter. She’s going to make this as hard for them as she can. She manages to shuffle herself back enough to push off with the strength of her thighs, into a standing position with her hands still bound in front of her, but that doesn’t last very long.

 

Hetty is as quick as she is strong, kicking Waverly’s feet out from under her the second she stands, sending Waverly crashing down to the ground without her hands to soften the impact, her knees hitting the hard ground beneath her with a thud that shakes her bones.

 

“If you struggle, you’ll only make more of a mess for your lover to find,” Hetty says cruelly, waiting above her, tensed and ready for Waverly’s next move like an animal watching its next meal. “Do you want that?”

 

“I want her to know I fought,” Waverly spits when she can breathe again, biting her lip against the pain in her knees, feeling the warmth of blood against her bare skin and the dirt.

 

She knows she won’t be able to keep this up for much longer, not if Hetty knocks her down again, but she has to try. She has to get up. She won’t die on her knees. Earps don’t die on their knees.

 

So she pushes up again, her legs shaking this time, the pain weakening them significantly, but she stands proud, long enough to see the wicked smile on her captor’s face. She doesn’t drop Waverly like before, she takes a step closer, balling her free hand in the front of Waverly’s jacket, drawing her forward until Waverly can feel the night air outside the mine on her face, tugging hard at the same time as she sinks to her knees, and Waverly comes down hard enough to split the skin of her other knee without the control of her movement that the woman has.

 

“You won’t die on your feet, Waverly,” the woman says softly, as if to a lover, and it makes Waverly’s skin crawl, only more so when she leans forward, an inch away from Waverly’s lips. “You’ll die in the dirt. Like all the others did.”

 

She can hear Herman’s footsteps walking towards her from behind, to hold her still, presumably, while his sister studies the blade in the starlight, so Waverly does the only thing she can think of, throwing her body towards the woman, trying to offset her balance.

 

It catches her captor off guard, but she’s too quick again, turning Waverly while they’re in motion so that when they land, Waverly is on her back with the woman straddling her waist.

 

“You won’t die on your knees either, it seems,” Hetty smirks above her, pushing her palm against Waverly’s chest to hold her still, so hard that Waverly can’t struggle even a little against it as weak and exhausted as she is.

 

Her brother comes into view over Hetty’s shoulder, smiling, and Waverly’s heart starts beating its death march in her chest, pounding as if struggling to try and stay alive, too. Hetty raises the knife to her brother, before he nods his head and she lowers it against Waverly’s throat, the metal unusually warm in spite of the cool dusk. She tries to move back, anything to get away from the blade she knows is poisoned, but she’s got nowhere to go, and she feels Hetty begin to apply pressure, just enough to pinch, but not quite enough to pierce the skin. Not yet.

 

She gives Waverly one last tormenting smile before she starts muttering the same mantra her brother is, in a language Waverly doesn’t recognise at all, and she knows it’s all going to be over in a moment.

 

Her skin is begging to give way beneath the knife, pleading, and Waverly is pushing her chest against the woman’s hand, but she’s too strong. She’s too strong, and this is so wrong, and Waverly gasps, one last breath of air, one last sob, before Hetty presses a little harder, and…

 

“Get your hands off her,” comes a voice from somewhere above her, outside the mouth of the mine, seething with anger, but also relieved, and Waverly sobs in reply.

 

Because it’s Nicole. Nicole is here. Nicole is _here_. Nicole found her.

 

“My, my,” Hetty says casually, looking to Nicole, but not taking her hand or the knife away from Waverly’s throat. “Good evening, Deputy. Didn’t we underestimate you?”

 

“I said get your hands off her,” Nicole says again, calmer this time, more controlled, and she looks desperately towards Waverly for just a moment, for just a second, to assure herself that Waverly is okay. “Waverly, it’s okay, baby. You’re gonna be okay.”

 

“She’s not, but it’s sweet of you to give her false hope,” Hetty says, huffing at the annoyance of Nicole’s life-saving interruption.

 

She pulls herself back and up onto her feet, bringing Waverly with her, wrapping her forearm like an iron bar across Waverly’s chest, holding her close with the knife still at her neck. “And _baby,_ was it? How sentimental. Tell me, does everyone else know, or are we the only ones privy to this? Your company perhaps? The others not long behind you?”

 

“They’re a mile away,” Nicole replies smoothly, not taking her eyes off the woman for a second as she takes a step towards them slowly. Towards Waverly. “My horse is quick. I left them behind when we rode from town.”

 

“You’re lying,” Hetty says with a narrowed eye, studying Nicole closely. “They’re closer than that. But it doesn’t matter. She’ll be dead before the others are here to help. And you, too.”

 

As if they can read each other’s minds, the siblings take a step towards each other, the sister shoving Waverly into Herman’s arms, tossing him the knife casually, which he holds to Waverly’s throat again, before turning back to Nicole

 

“I’m impressed you found us,” Hetty says to Nicole, tilting her head a little, almost inquisitively. “Normally law enforcement are strictly men, you see, and men just don’t look at something as closely as women do, so we don’t often have these interruptions. You shouldn’t have come, though, Deputy. You didn’t need to die. We only needed one more.”

 

“You have something of ours,” Nicole says, her eyes flicking quickly between the woman rounding on her and the man holding a knife to Waverly’s throat. “Of course we found you. And you didn’t need one more. You didn’t need any of them.”

 

“Ah, but we do,” Herman says, his grip tightening around Waverly’s chest, the knife pressing dangerously tight against her skin. “And she’s not yours anymore. She’s ours.”

 

“Nicole, the knife’s been rubbed with poison, you can’t let it cut you,” Waverly says quickly, daring to speak before Herman closes his hand over her mouth.

 

Because she knows he could kill her any second and there isn’t a thing she or Nicole could do, but at least she can give Nicole a chance.

 

She can feel the strength in him as she pushes back against his hold, just the same as his sister, too. Strong for a man of his size. _Too_ strong.

 

“Waverly, it’s going to be alright,” Nicole says to her calmly, her eyes finding Waverly’s through the terror thick in the air inside the mouth of the mine.

 

And she could _almost_ believe it, such is the sincerity in Nicole’s voice, but she isn’t holding out too much hope, not even if the others arrive in time, because the man at her back is too close, and Nicole is too far, and she’ll never get beyond the reach of the knife without him dealing a death blow one way or another.

 

Her senses are running more heightened than Waverly has ever experienced before. She can smell the belladonna on the blade, bitter against the surprisingly sweet scent of Herman’s body; she can feel his heart beating against her back, too slow; she can see the tension in Nicole’s muscles, her whole body ready to move for Waverly; but none of it matters, because she can taste the hopelessness on her own breath.

 

Too close. He’s too close. If only she could pull away quickly enough. Just enough.

 

“Another lie,” Hetty throws to Nicole, like she’s playing with her food. “Do you lie to all your lovers, Deputy? Or just the ones you let die?”

 

She can see the pain flash in Nicole’s eyes as though the words had been a blow and not simply a verbal barb. She can see Nicole look to her, can see her try and remain as calm as she can so that Waverly doesn’t panic. She can see Nicole trying to think of a way out, and she can see her come up with nothing. There’s nothing. Not as long as he has Waverly this close.

 

“She’s not going to die,” Nicole replies firmly, her voice rough and her eyes angry. Angry at them. Angry at the world for giving them an unforgivably short amount of time together.

 

“Yes, she is,” Hetty returns with a growing impatience, before she looks to her companion. “Enough, brother. Do it now, before the others arrive and I have to make more of a mess.”

 

She can’t talk, she can’t even tell Nicole goodbye, because the grip over her mouth is as tight as the one around her chest. Tight. Too tight. Too _close_.

 

“Waverly,” Nicole says, she pleads, and there’s more pain in her voice than Waverly has ever heard before, in hers or anyone else’s.

 

More than in Gus’s after her father had died. More than in Wynonna’s when she had told her sister she could never have a normal life. So much more that it hurts. It breaks her heart to watch Nicole’s break in turn. A tragedy of the purest kind.

 

“No goodbyes, how sad,” Herman says with a laugh, before he breathes one last utterance into Waverly’s ear, in a language older than she thinks the bones of this town are. The blade presses into her neck, and she meets Nicole’s eyes, holding them, calming them, as the knife tightens and Nicole reaches and…

 

“Oh, there’s a goodbye, alright,” Wynonna says, stepping from behind Nicole with Peacemaker held high. “Only it’s gonna be yours.”

 

Waverly watches as the woman’s eyes flick between Nicole and Wynonna and Doc and Nedley, and Herman’s hold relaxes just a fraction, and then Doc catches her eye, winking like he’s done a thousand times before he squeezes the trigger of his gun.

 

She feels the bullet hit the body behind her as though it had struck her, only it doesn’t. It hits him. It hits him, and his hold weakens, _just,_ and Waverly doesn’t waste a second, tearing herself from his grasp, the blade scraping dangerously against her throat, until she’s free and she can throw herself into Nicole’s arms. She almost knocks Nicole over, such is the force with which she reaches desperately for her, but Nicole is steady, Nicole is firm, Nicole holds when Waverly crashes against her.

 

Her hands are still tied and she’s crying now, pressed hard up against Nicole’s chest, but it’s okay, because Nicole’s here. Nicole’s here and everything is going to be okay. Nicole’s arms close around her so tightly it almost hurts, dropping her head to murmur into Waverly’s ear, the same thing over and over, _you’re okay, baby, you’re okay, I’ve got you_ , like a mantra, calming her racing heart.

 

They can’t afford to lose themselves in their reunion, though, not for longer than a few seconds, because they’re all still in suffocating danger. Nicole hurries to untie her bonds, her hands moving quickly, shaking, Waverly can see, until the rope drops to the ground at her feet, and Waverly sighs in relief.

 

“Oh, Waverly,” Nicole says when she sees the angry red lines left behind, the bonds having cut into her skin with her attempts to free herself.

 

“It’s okay,” Waverly replies, pressing her palm to Nicole’s cheek, looking through the tears in her eyes. “It’s okay, Nicole. I’m okay.”

 

“You alright there, baby girl?” Wynonna asks her quickly, throwing her head back to glance at them while still advancing on her captors.

 

“I’m fine,” Waverly says, lifting her chin so Nicole can wipe the line of poison sitting, for the moment benignly, against her skin with the sleeve of her shirt. “I’m fine. Are you all alright?”

 

“We’re just fine, darlin’,” Doc returns, throwing her another quick wink before turning back to the man and woman, who are resolutely standing their ground, refusing to be pushed back further inside the mines.

 

“You keep coming closer, Sheriff,” Herman says with a hollow tone as he looks between the three of them, _four_ when Nicole steps in front of Waverly, bodily guarding her, to join them. “What is it you’re going to do when you reach us. Lock us up?”

 

“No,” Nedley says stronger and more angry than Waverly has ever heard him. “I’m not fool enough to think you’re not going to be anything but a plague if we let you live.”

 

“Them are fightin’ words, Sheriff,” Herman says in reply, mocking the lilt of Nedley's accent.

 

“We’re not here to play for coins, murderer,” Wynonna throws back at him, leveling a glare over the barrel of her gun. “A fight is exactly what we want.”

 

“Very well,” Hetty says finally, as if Wynonna had just signed a contract of sorts, taking a step towards them, and not back.

 

Herman had been hunched slightly, nursing what Waverly knows should be a bullet wound, but at his sister’s words, he straightens easily, without any sign of pain.

 

“Nicole,” Waverly says, her hands palm up on Nicole’s back, whispering around the side of her body. “I know he was shot, I felt the bullet hit him. But the wound…”

 

“There isn’t any blood,” Nicole finishes, and Waverly watches as a hand that should come away red comes away clean. “Wynonna, he’s not bleeding.”

 

“Clever, Deputy,” he says with a mildly delighted smile, as if pleased that Nicole had figured it out, and then he starts moving.

 

Not fast, but constant, he and his sister, step after step they walk towards the guns pointed at them, and not away from, and it doesn’t take Doc and Wynonna long to nod at each other, and then to Nedley, and then to Nicole, too, holding Waverly behind her, before they start shooting, and chaos descends.

 

Wynonna hits one of them first before they move, and Waverly watches their body be blown backwards with the force of the bullet, but they don’t even flinch, let alone slow down. They break away from one another instead, and move for the others, _fast_. Herman makes for Waverly and Nicole instantly, his eyes only for them as he spins the knife in his hands, walking them both towards the starlight outside of the mine. Waverly watches in horror as Doc turns, shooting him in the back a half dozen times, but Doc may as well be throwing stones for all that it does to him.

 

“It’s not harmin’ them,” Waverly says louder to the others as the realisation and horror settles over her and she watches the man get closer to them. “The bullets aren’t slowin’ them at all.”

 

“Good thing Wynonna taught me how to fight,” Doc says with a smirk, holstering his guns before dropping his shoulder and running for the woman facing them, throwing his weight against her.

 

She feels Nicole’s body in front of hers, almost rigid with tension, weighing up action after action in her head. Weighing up, Waverly thinks, how best to keep her safe.

 

Doc making contact with his sister, sending them both to the hard ground, twisting around each other like snakes in the sand, distracts Herman for a moment, just enough for Nicole to decide on her course of action. She raises her gun and fires fast, her last bullet, Waverly knows, and it finds the exact point Nicole had been targeting, the home she had been aiming for.

 

His hand, closed around the handle of the knife.

 

The knife falls from his hand heavily as he lets out a growl of frustration, but not pain, and his gaze drops to see it in the sand a few feet away from them, moving to sweep it from the ground, but Nicole is quicker. She hits him in the stomach, just as Doc had with Hetty, pushing him away from Waverly, kicking the hilt of the knife with her boot towards Wynonna at the same time.

 

It’s like terror she’s never felt, watching Nicole fight the man in front of her. More terrifying than being the one in danger herself. She watches every blow, every movement, with complete attention, her own fists balled at her sides.

 

“Waverly, no,” Nicole says pleadingly when she makes to move for them both, to offer some sort of aid, holding her hand back to stop Waverly from taking another step.

 

And she wants to do something, _anything_ , she wants to go to Nicole’s side as Nicole had done for her, but she knows that Nicole’s right. She knows that she’ll only endanger the both of them. She spares a glance for the others across the mine, all three of them struggling to bring the woman into submission, but they’re okay. They’re okay, but Nicole’s not.

 

She’s a brilliant fighter, almost perfect in fact, far more controlled than her sister and Doc are, but Herman’s better. He’s better, and he’s stronger, too. For every perfect blow Nicole tries to land, he parries quicker, and the few that she does manage to land, he shrugs off as if they’re nothing. Nicole manages to dodge a good number of his, too, but the ones that do land seem to be as heavy as cannon fire.

 

She glances around to the others, looking desperately for Wynonna, or someone to come to Nicole’s aid. Nicole’s strong, though, she stands her ground, pulling him back towards her everytime he tries to make a break for Waverly, taking blow after blow, until he bests her.

 

She feels helpless, she feels _hopeless,_ when Nicole ducks to avoid a punch, only to meet the man’s knee, hard to her forehead, and she drops like a stone.

 

“Nicole,” Waverly cries, some strange strangled sound falling from her mouth, frozen as the man stands over Nicole’s unmoving body.

 

The others all look over to Waverly and Nicole, drawn by Waverly’s cry of distress, Nedley uttering a shaky _Haught,_ before Wynonna moves for them without even glancing at the men. Her sister is moving towards them, but Herman is moving, as well, and she’s too slow in escaping, her attention centred on Nicole, still unmoving on the ground, and he grabs Waverly around the waist before she can dart out of his reach.

 

“The knife, Wynonna. I think you need to use the knife,” Waverly manages to yell before he elbows her in the stomach, winding her so hard she feels as though she might be sick in his arms.

 

“Get your hands off her,” Wynonna snarls, walking towards them both, her eyes narrowed in fury, not leaving his as she drops her body to pick the knife up in one smooth motion.

 

“No, I don’t think I will,” he replies with a growl, shifting his arms up and around Waverly’s head, and the nausea doubles like a cresting wave, because he doesn’t have the knife anymore, so he’s going to break Waverly’s neck instead.

 

“Hurry up, brother. You don’t need the knife, just kill her,” his sister spits before Doc clasps his hand over her mouth, but it’s all the affirmation he needs.

 

She’s still gasping from the blow to her stomach, and Wynonna’s looking at her desperately, hopelessly, and her heart aches because she’s going to die not knowing if Nicole is alive or not, and Waverly feels his arms tense, about to do it, when something hits them hard from behind, freeing Waverly from his grip.

 

It’s Nicole.

 

She’s alright. She has a large cut across her cheekbone, and she’s breathing heavily, obviously exhausted, but she’s okay, thank _god_ , she’s okay.

 

Wynonna doesn’t waste a second when he rounds on Nicole, pushing past Waverly gently before she can so much as breathe, her mind screaming for Nicole’s safety, driving the knife as hard as she can into his back, up high, where his heart should be.

 

It stops him instantly, as nothing else has done - not a bullet or a fist or even the weight of Nicole’s whole body - it stops him instantly, and he drops to his knees, hard, just like Waverly had done what feels like hours ago. Across the small space, his sister screams, deep and blood-curdling, wrestling in Doc and Nedley’s hold as they try and hold her down, and Waverly knows immediately from the height of her distress and the lack of sound from him that her brother is dying. Or dead.

 

Wynonna doesn’t celebrate the victory yet, Waverly can sense her whole body still tensed, poised and waiting for another blow to come, for him to fight, but nothing comes. Wynonna twists the knife, pushing further in, just in case, but there isn’t any response.

 

His body just drops to the dirt at her feet instead.

 

Nicole and Wynonna and Waverly all bend in relief together, as one, at his completely motionless body slumped in an unceremonious heap at Wynonna’s feat, and Waverly doesn’t waste another instant now that it’s safe, moving for Nicole as quickly as her bruised, aching body will allow. Arms free, she can wrap them around Nicole as firmly as Nicole is holding her, settling her face in the crook of Nicole’s neck, whispering to her victorious pulse _you’re alive, thank god, you're alive_ before Nicole draws away softly.

 

“That’s my line, I think,” Nicole says, and she’s trying to keep her voice calm, but Waverly can see her eyes are heavy with relief. “God, Waverly, I was almost too late.”

 

“But you weren’t,” Waverly breathes, savouring the feeling of Nicole’s neck warm against her cheek and Nicole’s arms around her waist. “You weren’t. You came.”

 

Waverly wants to stay here forever, she wants to rest in Nicole’s arms forever, but she knows she can’t. Not yet at least. Not when they still have work to do. She knows they should likely be more proper in the presence of the Sheriff too, but Waverly thinks he will happily turn a blind eye for the palpable relief Waverly can feel beating through Nicole’s body, so she doesn’t drop Nicole’s hand when they turn and walk towards the fiercely struggling woman.

 

Nicole shrugs her coat off when she sees Waverly shake a little outside of warmth their quick embrace had provided, pressing a kiss to the top of her head when Waverly moves towards her to accept the piece of clothing. She returns the gesture to the place above Nicole’s heart before moving back, smiling when Nicole sighs in reply and links their hands together again.

 

“You have to believe me,” she’s saying to Wynonna and the Sheriff as Doc holds her arms pinned behind her back, kneeling on the ground. “I’m innocent. I’m _innocent_. He didn’t give me a choice, but to do his bidding.”

 

“You expect us to believe you were only followin’ his orders?” Wynonna asks, raising her eyebrow in disbelief when Nicole and Waverly near them.

 

They move closer, but Nicole hangs back a little, not getting too close, putting herself and Wynonna between Waverly and Hetty in the unlikely event that she breaks free of Doc’s iron-tight hold.

 

“Yes, I do,” Hetty says, looking up to Wynonna with pleading eyes, and Waverly has to give her due, it’s a credible act, solid enough that Waverly almost begins to believe it herself. “I followed because he asked, because I didn’t have a choice. Tell me, Wynonna Earp, wouldn’t you do anything for your family? Wouldn’t you do anything for your sister?”

 

“You’re right,” Wynonna says, dropping the hand clutching the knife to her side, and she sees Hetty relax, just a fraction, and Waverly is about to step forward, to tell Wynonna that she thinks the woman is lying, before her sister speaks again. “You’re right, I would do _anythin_ ’ for my sister, which is why you’re not walkin’ out of here alive.”

 

“But, it wasn’t me,” Hetty says softly, her performance almost watertight with believability. “It was my brother. It was his idea, you know it was.”

 

“Here’s the thing,” Wynonna replies, bending at the knees so she’s almost face to face with Hetty. “Even if I believed you, which I don’t, there’s no way I could let you go, or let you live out the rest of your days in a cell. Not knowin’ you were prepared to murder my sister. Not knowin’ that she still might be in the smallest drop of danger while you’re alive. You forget, witch, I’ve seen the evil in this world. I’m not some young, naïve fool. Your eyes aren’t innocent, even with this charade hangin’ around you. I’m an Earp, remember? We’re cursed enough to know darkness when we see it.”

 

Hetty’s demeanour changes instantly, the second Wynonna stops talking. Without skipping a beat, she launches herself forward, her teeth snapping together like some kind of animal as she strains against Doc’s hold, Wynonna and Nedley and Nicole all moving to form an instant human barrier between her and Waverly. Because _that’s_ who she’s pulling towards, none of the others, not even Wynonna standing with a knife that could kill her in her hand. She’s looking at Waverly, like she would tear out Waverly’s throat given half a chance, if only she could pull free from Doc’s hold.

 

“I should have torn your heart out the second your lover arrived,” Waverly’s captor spits in her direction, and it looks like it takes all of Doc’s strength to hold her in place. “I should have left you bleeding and dead in her arms.”

 

“Stand her up,” Wynonna yells over her screaming, moving back to allow Doc to pull her up, so she’s eye to eye with Wynonna.

 

She falls silent then, staring hard into Wynonna’s eyes with an expression that makes Waverly feel sick, before turning it to her, and Nicole moves in front of her more completely, not breaking the connection of their hands, though, holding Waverly’s right hand with her own as Waverly rests her other hand palm down on Nicole’s back.

 

“Fury looks good on you,” Wynonna says with a frown, watching the woman carefully. “Better than a lie, anyway. So, a murderer after all, are we?”

 

“Go to hell,” Hetty seethes, trying desperately to tear herself out of Doc’s hold, writhing, which only deepens Wynonna’s frown.

 

“You first,” Wynonna says, and almost quicker than Waverly can follow, she drives the point of the knife under Hetty’s ribs, up and into her heart.

 

She goes slack in Doc’s arms immediately, and when Wynonna takes her hand away, it’s red, finally covered in her blood.

 

“Thank god,” Wynonna growls, slumping a little, beckoning for Doc to drop Hetty’s body and accept the embrace she has waiting for him. “I thought she’d never go down.”

 

It warms her, watching her sister move for Doc so effortlessly, almost as much as Nicole’s body does, turning to fold Waverly into a similar hold. Only _then_ does she relax against Nicole fully, with both of the bodies of her captors cooling on the hard, unforgiving ground. Only then does she allow herself to cry - silently, but openly - against Nicole’s chest.

 

“It’s alright, baby,” Nicole whispers as her hands move over Waverly’s back in calming circles. “It’s all over now. We’re all okay.”

 

She exhales deeply, letting all of her weight rest against Nicole, and Nicole takes it easily, tightening her hold, leaning down to press a few discreet kisses to Waverly’s cheek.

 

“Baby?” Waverly asks when they part, quiet enough that the others can’t possibly hear them.

 

“Is it…” Nicole begins, looking a hint worried, before Waverly beams through her tears, lifting herself on her tiptoes to bump her nose against Nicole’s.

 

“It’s perfect,” Waverly sighs in reply, pressing herself against Nicole’s chest, needing the contact for a moment longer. “I like it a great deal.”

 

“Alright, alright,” Wynonna says somewhere to Waverly’s side, and she draws back from Nicole’s arms reluctantly, only to be pulled into her sister’s. “It’s my turn.”

 

“Never had to fight for that before, huh?” Waverly jokes against her sister’s chest before a wave of exhaustion and pain and _god, we almost died,_ crashes over her and her laughs become sobs.

 

“It’s okay, baby girl,” Wynonna says softly, swaying a little with Waverly in her arms like she used to when they were small. “They’re gone. They won’t be back to hurt you or anyone else, alright?”

 

Waverly moves back with a hiccuping sob, wiping at one eye before Wynonna catches a tear on the other, handing her off to Doc gently.

 

“What a brave young thing you are, Miss Waverly,” Doc says when he folds Waverly into another hug, swaying with her as Wynonna had, and the familiarity of the gesture and his quiet humming calms her enough that the tears stop before she moves to hug the Sheriff, too.

 

“You Earps are hardy things, aren’t you?” he says with a wink, hugging Waverly quickly, too, before handing her back to Nicole.

 

“Thank you,” Waverly says to Nedley first, wiping at one last tear. “It doesn’t seem adequate enough a thing to say for savin’ my life, but thank you. Thank you all. You risked your lives to come and find me, and…”

 

“We would have done nothing less,” Doc says, finishing the sentence for her. “You’re part of our hearts, darlin’. We could have done nothing less.”

 

She leans against Nicole’s chest heavily then, closing her eyes against the comfort and warmth of her body. Nicole’s arm moves around her shoulder, closing the memories of the last day - of terror and pain and fear - in a fist for later, as exhaustion breaks over her fully.

 

“Everyone else alright?” Nedley asks, looking over all four of them, taking inventory of everyone’s wounds. “No one touched that blade, did they?”

 

“Only them,” Wynonna replies, nudging the woman’s body with the toe of her boot, making a noise of contentment when she doesn’t react or jolt back to life. “It’s a good knife, though.”

 

“Perhaps you should take it into your care,” Nedley says, gesturing his head towards the knife in Wynonna’s hand. “Or I will, if you’d rather not. I don’t think it should be left for anyone else to take, though.”

 

“I agree,” Nicole replies, nodding at Nedley. “I think it should be entrusted to someone’s care. Someone who knows what they thought it could do.”

 

“I guess I could,” Wynonna says with a dramatic sigh, bending down to wipe the blade clean on the woman’s clothing, removing any trace of the poison before winking to Nicole. “If you think I’m up to the task, Deputy. Don’t think anyone else should have the job?”

 

“No soul I’d trust with it more, Wynonna,” Nicole return respectfully, and Waverly watches as Wynonna softens in the face of Nicole’s compliment.

 

“Careful, Deputy,” Wynonna teases, reaching forward to touch Nicole on the arm. “Keep talkin’ like that, and people’ll begin to believe that you think well of me.”

 

“Can’t have that now, can we?” Nicole laughs softly in return, and Waverly makes a noise of contentment against Nicole’s chest at the ease with which Nicole and her sister seem to have found a kinship, something Wynonna has only ever found with her and Doc.

 

Wynonna hands the knife to Doc for him to inspect as Nedley takes a step towards the two of them, and Waverly prepares to pull back out of respect for him, but he shakes his head subtly, gesturing that their nearness is acceptable in this small intimate group. Around _family_.

 

“You did well to stall them so long, Waverly. And you did well, too, Haught. Very well,” Nedley says, addressing her first before looking to Waverly. “She was the first to realise where you were, Waverly. We were only followin’ her lead.”

 

“You did?” Waverly asks, turning in Nicole’s embrace to look her in the eye. “You were the one who figured it out?”

 

“I mean, it would only have been a matter of time before someone else did,” Nicole tries to say modestly, but Waverly shakes her head quickly.

 

“I didn’t have time, though,” Waverly breathes, her heart swelling because Nicole truly had been the one to save her life, in every way. “You saw how close they were to… if you’d have been a minute later, even… You… I wouldn’t have…“

 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner,” Nicole says softly, only to her. “I’m _so_ sorry we cut it so fine, Waverly. It should never have been that close. You never should have been so scared.”

 

“You came though,” Waverly replies simply, smiling in the soft light of the stars. “You came in time, that’s all that matters.”

 

She so desperately wants to lift herself and press a kiss to Nicole’s lips then, but she dare not push the limits of the others’ comfort. _Later_ , Waverly thinks to herself. _Later I’ll show her exactly what it means that she risked her life for me. That she saved me._

 

They’re brought out of their soft haze by Nedley clearing his throat delicately next to them, and they turn to face him, but don’t allow any space to form between the two of them.

 

“Did they say anythin’ to you that might help us find and recover the other women, now that we know their fate?” Nedley asks Waverly, his brow deeply furrowed under the weight of this other task in front of them.

 

“Yes,” Waverly nods sadly, and she can’t help but feel a deep sense of guilt at being the only survivor. “They mentioned that the…the murders needed to take place on sites where ‘death lingered.’ Where people had died, I guess?”

 

“Wonderful,” Wynonna grumbles under her breath, looking with a humourless smile to Waverly. “That’s why the homestead was…”

 

“Did they happen to mention anywhere else?” Doc asks, putting his arm around Wynonna’s shoulders in an attempt to comfort her, and distract her, too, Waverly thinks.

 

“Not that I heard,” Waverly answers quietly. “I…they kept me alone in the dark most of the time, not with them. I don’t know where they went between times. I’m sorry.”

 

“You haven’t a thing to apologise for,” Nedley says quickly, before Nicole can. “Not one thing, Waverly. If that’s the criteria, we must be able to narrow the last few sites down.”

 

“Well, there were a significant number of deaths here,” Doc says, gesturing to the mines around them. “That must’ve been why this was their final location.”

 

“The homestead, obviously,” Wynonna says dryly, before her brow creases in thought. “We recovered the body there. And the girl we found at the well earlier in the day.”

 

“What of the burial grounds outside of town,” Waverly offers quietly, leaning more against Nicole as her limbs grow heavy. “Did anyone search them?”

 

“They did, but only early on,” Nedley answers, looking to her thoughtfully. “We thought it was too exposed for anythin’, so it may not have been as thoroughly searched as it could have been.”

 

“To Miss Waverly’s end, what about the old battleground? Or the slaughterhouse?” Doc says, biting his lip in thought. “Were they searched?”  

 

“They were, yes, but…” Nedley replies, and Waverly can see how it troubles him, the thought that he might have let someone down through any acts of his doing, or _not_ doing.

 

“You mustn’t blame yourself, Sheriff,” Waverly says quietly, meeting his haunted eyes. “They were… they… I don’t think they’ve ever been caught before, and I don’t think this was the first time they’ve…they were different _._ They knew how to work around everyone’s best defence. You mustn’t blame yourself.”

 

“She’s right, Sheriff,” Wynonna adds in agreement with her sister. “I think it’s some kind of miracle we were able to find Waverly. The other deaths weren’t your fault. You’ve been all over this damn town, they were just better. But now they’re gone, and we’re not. If that’s not a victory, I don’t know what is.”

 

Nedley drops his head, nodding in acknowledgement, but not, Waverly thinks, in agreement, because she can almost see the weight of the other bodies on his back, the guilt winding around his hands as he rubs them together.

 

“Now,” Wynonna says, drawing each of them out of their own thoughts to focus on her. “I don’t know everyone else’s thoughts, and I don’t know if you need to take them to town, Sheriff, but I’m not of a mind to bury these two. It might seem ridiculous, but now that they’re dead, I think I’d find myself wanting to make sure they stay that way.”

 

“I agree,” Nedley replies with a grimace, looking to Wynonna. “I think we should burn the bodies, unless anyone objects. The ashes will still be here if anyone from the town needs to resolve their own worries.”

 

Waverly feels the breath rush from her chest at Nedley’s agreement, because she wasn’t sure how to articulate her fear, but she’s not certain she’d ever be able to relax if she didn’t know they were destroyed _,_ overcome and stripped of all power, completely. Nicole must feel the change in her body, because she looks down at her with a soft expression that talks to her as clearly as if Nicole had spoken aloud, saying _it’s okay, they’re gone, you’re safe, but we’ll make sure of it so no one has to fear them again._

 

She rests her head against Nicole’s chest then, closing her eyes and feeling peace come over her for the first time since they had discovered the initial body.

 

“An unpleasant business, but I’m not certain I’d sleep soundly unless we did,” Doc says gravely to Nedley before he breaks away from Wynonna to gather various pieces of debris, throwing them in a pile that will become their pyre.

 

Wynonna follows after a moment, moving methodically, collecting odd pieces of wood strewn about the mouth of the mine, walking some small distance to a nearby tree, snapping a few branches and tossing them onto the growing pile.

 

Waverly makes a move to follow them, but Nicole stops her gently, holding her hands carefully.

 

“I don’t think you should be doin’ anythin’ until we get those wrists of yours wrapped, Miss Earp,” Nicole says, moving her thumb whisper-soft over the unharmed skin of Waverly’s palm. “Don’t you think? I mean…I don’t want to assume to tell you anythin’, but—“

 

“No, you’re right,” Waverly nods, looking up into Nicole’s eyes, wide with concern. “You’re right, I just… I want to help.”

 

“I have matches in Lady Jane’s saddlebag,” Nicole says, turning her head towards her horse. “Perhaps you could help me light a torch or two? I can barely see anythin’ as it is.”

 

“Gladly,” Waverly answers easily, allowing herself to be lead by the hand over to Lady Jane, who makes a noise that Waverly is coming to understand the animal means as a greeting.

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever ridden her as hard as I did comin’ out here,” Nicole says, running the hand not holding Waverly’s along the horse’s neck. “It sounds strange, but it was as though she knew you needed me.”

 

“I don’t think it’s strange at all,” Waverly replies, leaning against the stability Lady Jane provides when Nicole drops her hand gently to search through her saddlebags. “I think she’s as clever as you and I.”

 

“Isn’t she a terrible flatterer, girl?” Nicole says to the horse, and Waverly can’t help but laugh softly in reply, relishing the foreign lightness in the gesture.

 

“I think she likes it just fine,” Waverly returns happily, stroking Lady Jane’s flank as she waits for Nicole to prepare herself.

 

She finds the matches after some effort in the dark before walking around the horse’s other side to untie what turns out to be a prepared torch.

 

“Surely you’re not that clever to suspect we might have needed one ahead of leaving early this mornin’?” Waverly asks with a raised eyebrow, thoroughly amused by the depth of Nicole’s preparations.

 

“I’ve had it tied with the other supplies since the moment we knew you were missin’, in case I needed to come out in the night to find you,” Nicole says a little guiltily, and it’s so deeply touching that Waverly can’t help herself.

 

She looks across Lady Jane’s back, to the others focused thoroughly on the building of the bonfire, ensuring they have some privacy, before turning back to Nicole, and kissing her.

 

It’s easy, sheltered by the horse’s sheer size, to lose herself in Nicole then, even trying as hard as she is to keep the kiss chaste, lest they get too lost. She stands on her tiptoes, sliding her fingertips into the hair at the nape of Nicole’s neck, up to weave in her hair, her fingers splayed against Nicole’s scalp, and then their lips meet.

 

Waverly can feel Nicole’s surprise at Waverly’s obvious - and in any other situation, reckless - show of affection, but they’re surrounded by family, her family, their family, and they’re _alive_.

 

It doesn’t take longer than a second for Nicole’s arms to slide around her waist, for her tongue to run along Waverly’s bottom lip, and Waverly has to force herself to draw back before they forget themselves completely.

 

“Promise me we’ll have another opportunity to do that later,” Waverly says with a roughness in her voice that wasn’t there a moment ago.

 

“I promise,” Nicole affirms, with an emphasis on the last word, her hands warm on Waverly’s hips.

 

“We’ll need some time to tend our wounds,” Waverly replies as she bites her lip, the want breaking high in her chest, above her heart. “Perhaps we could stay at the shop tonight? Together, I mean? I’m sure it would be more than understandable to have a deputy guard me, after everythin’ that happened.”

 

“There is nothin’ I could dream of better than that,” Nicole whispers to her, bending down to lean her forehead against Waverly’s, pressing one last quick kiss to her lips before the crunch of someone’s boot on gravel draws them apart.  

 

“Don’t tell me you have a torch back there?” Wynonna asks with a raised eyebrow as she walks around to their side. “Christ, Haught.”

 

“There’s nothin’ wrong with preparedness,” Nicole scowls back at her, handing Waverly the length of the torch while she lights a match, holding it to the oil soaked rag already wrapped around the end of the wood.

 

“Hmmm, where have I heard that before,” Wynonna says with an eye roll, looking to Waverly, who can only smile broadly in reply. “We’re ready when you are over here.”

 

Waverly watches as Nicole nods a little solemnly before taking Waverly’s hand that’s not holding the torch, and together they walk over to the impressively-sized heap of wood with the two bodies wrapped and covered by their own loose black clothing. She can feel Nicole prepared to take the torch if she doesn’t want to light the pyre herself, but she doesn’t need her to. She needs to do this herself. She needs to see them become _nothing_.

 

“May they never find peace,” Wynonna says like some half-prayer as she takes her place with her arm wrapped around Doc’s waist, and Waverly doesn’t miss the way his eyes close at the effortless affection she shows.

 

There’s an odd sense of finality that falls over them then, and Waverly knows it’s time.

 

She feels Nicole loosen her grip on Waverly’s hand to allow her to walk forward, but Waverly holds tight, drawing Nicole a step forward so she can light the dry wood in several places before standing back and watching the kindling light.

 

“It’s over,” Wynonna says, to herself and the others assembled there, and Waverly leans back against Nicole, breathing deeply as a gentle wind blows the smoke away from them.

 

“It’s over,” Nicole echoes, her hand closing tightly around Waverly’s after she intertwines their fingers together.

 

They don’t say anything else, any of them, they just watch, vigilant like old gods observing a change in the balance of things, standing guard until the pyre burns down to nothing, until there’s nothing left but ash and justice.

 

“It’s done,” Nedley says, what feels like hours later, turning his back on the ruins finally and moving for his horse. “Let’s go home.”

  


-

  


“I don’t suppose there’s a place for me?” Waverly asks with a shy smile when she and Nicole walk back to Lady Jane, as Wynonna and Doc saddle up to the side of them, and Nedley waits, already settled atop his horse.

 

Waverly doesn’t mean for the simple question to leave her lips so heavily, but it does, and she almost wishes she could claw it back, because Nicole’s feelings for her are crystal clear now, but she doesn’t want to push too far, either.

 

She drops her eyes to the ground, glancing over the grazes on her knees to the dusty toes of her boots, but she need not have worried, not for a moment, because Nicole’s index finger catches her chin, lifting her eyes to a brilliant smile.

 

“Waverly Earp, there will never _not_ be room for you,” Nicole breathes softly, offering Waverly her hand, and her heart, too, Waverly thinks.

 

And Waverly takes it, smoothly, easily, without a second's hesitation, her palm sliding home into Nicole’s like they were made as a pair, her hand made from the mold of Nicole’s.

 

Waverly blushes as deeply as she had two nights ago, when Nicole had seen her bare for the first time, and Nicole does the same, the two of them joined by the depth of their connection as the world passes them by.

 

“Christ, I could murder somethin’ to eat,” comes Wynonna’s voice, breaking them both out of the moment, Nicole’s eyes rolling, a little exasperated, and Waverly can’t help but laugh.

 

“Shall we?” Nicole gestures to the saddle with a quick laugh, and Waverly nods, smiling with a softness full of hope, accepting Nicole’s help to swing her aching body up into the saddle.

 

Nicole joins her in the second that follows, her body warm and safe and comforting at her back, and Waverly can’t help but hum in contentment, a soft rumble that moves through the both of them.

 

“It’s over,” Waverly says as a wave of exhaustion passes over her, and she falls back against Nicole’s chest, marveling in the sound of her heart beating proudly against her ear. “Thank you for…thank you.”

 

“Close your eyes, baby,” Nicole says gently, and Waverly can feel her smiling before kissing Waverly quickly on the brow, shuffling in the saddle so that Waverly can settle completely against her. “Close your eyes. I’ll take you home.”

 

-


	21. twenty one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday everyone! Welcome back to WIld-West day!
> 
> I'm just going to start this by sayng : Three to go! Three to go. Threeeee to gooooo. Or actually, two after this one. Ahhhhhhh. Cannot believe it. Trying not to dwell.... We're staying put with Waverly's POV for this chapter (and the next) and then we'll finish on Nicole. 
> 
> Thanks as always to @iamthegaysmurf for all her wonderful beta help. Thank you to you all for leaving so many wonderful comments, I promise I'll try and get to them sometime soon. Swing by [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigerlo_) if you have any questions or anything!
> 
> When you get to the end of this it'll be twooooo to goooo. 
> 
> xx

-

  
  


Waverly sleeps for the entire ride in, only opening her eyes when she feels the slow, steady movement of the horse beneath her stop. Her eyes flutter open to the still dark of Main Street, to Curtis and Gus clutching desperately at one another as they watch Wynonna, Doc, and Nicole ride towards them, with Waverly in her arms.

 

Wynonna’s off her horse the quickest, throwing herself heavily into their arms, and Waverly thinks she hears her sister mutter something that sounds like _we found her, we brought her home, I promised we would_ to them before standing back to allow Gus to hug Doc, too.

 

They draw apart, and her aunt’s eyes find hers, weary and battered, but unmistakably alive, and there’s a beat before they both dissolve into tears. Nicole slides out of the saddle first, helping Waverly down onto shaky legs now that the adrenaline has wrung itself from her limbs, the pain of her aches prominent in her consciousness. It all dissolves when Gus steps forward though, crushing Waverly in as tight a hug as she looks like she can manage, her sobs moving them both.

 

“You’re alive,” Gus says, pulling Waverly tight against her, hands shaking like she almost can’t believe the truth before her eyes. “Christ, girl, we thought you’d… when the others didn’t come back this afternoon, we thought the worst.”

 

“I’m okay,” Waverly offers softly, soothingly, her chin on her aunt’s shoulder. “I’m okay, we’re all okay.”

 

“What of those responsible?” Curtis asks them all, his arm around Wynonna’s shoulder and a worried expression on his brow.

 

“Gone,” Waverly answers, feeling the others wait, as though it were hers to announce in victory. “Dead, and gone.”

 

Curtis must be able to smell the smoke on them all, nodding with a grim, but relieved expression, before stepping forwards and embracing Waverly when Gus steps back finally.

 

“Gave us a helluva scare there, young lady,” Curtis says to her quietly, wiping at his eyes quickly once Waverly takes a step back from him and into Nicole’s warmth again, a little less obviously without the safety of privacy around them now.

 

“I’m so sorry,” Waverly says to all of those assembled in front of her. “I’m so sorry you had to worry, all of you. I’m sorry you had to—“

 

“Waverly Earp, the only person alive to apologise for bein’ kidnapped and almost killed,” Wynonna says, cutting her off with an eye-roll, stepping away from Curtis to wrap her sister up in her arms again. “There ain’t nothin’ to say sorry for. Any one of us’ll go to the ends of the earth for you, baby girl. And if you didn’t know that already, that’s our failin’.”

 

Waverly doesn’t say anything for a moment, her voice physically absent for a heartbeat, before Gus steps into the silence for her.

 

“You must be starvin’,” Gus announces, in her own way of coping with everything to have transpired in the last few days, looking between them all, sighing in what Waverly knows is a deep relief.

 

“I thought you were never gonna mention it,” Wynonna says, rolling her eyes heavily, and Waverly can’t help but laugh in reply.

 

“Wynonna Earp, the only woman thinkin’ about food in the middle of a situation like this,” Gus says with a huff, before smiling wryly at Wynonna and looking to Waverly. “You need to eat somethin’, too. And that dog of yours’ll be goin’ mad inside, knowin’ you’re out here.”

 

“Somethin’ small,” Waverly replies, nodding before looking down at herself, over her scraped knuckles and bloodied knees. “And then I’d best tend to these injuries.”

 

“We’ve got a few supplies here,” Gus offers, before a knowing look moves over her face. “Unless…”

 

“I think it’s probably best I see to them with the full suite of supplies,” Waverly says a little shyly, before casting a glance to Nicole, nursing a carefully neutral expression. “And Nicole’s injuries, too.”

 

She watches Nicole’s face change, from neutral to something hopeful - and surprised, even. Surprised, Waverly thinks, at her not shying away from their intended interaction in front of her family, and Waverly’s insinuation that she likely won’t be alone for the night; at the ease with which she doesn’t attempt to smother traces of their closeness.

 

“You'll be keepin’ an eye on her, I hope, Deputy?” Curtis says with a serious, but friendly tone, and Waverly takes that to mean that he approves, that they, Gus included, are comfortable with Nicole staying the night, and the new intimacy that such a thing inherently suggests.

 

“Of course, sir,” Nicole replies formally, and she looks between the two of them, understanding that the question was a test of sorts.

 

“Glad to hear it,” Curtis replies with a quick wink to Nicole, and Waverly feels the body next to hers relax just a fraction, and exhale softly in relief.

 

“Enough talk,” Wynonna says with a scowl, taking a step towards the door of the Inn, seemingly fine with not adding anything to the active conversation. “Food.”

 

They all laugh softly, and they breathe together in relief because it’s over; it’s over, and they’re alive.

 

“Food,” Gus says with a laugh, watching Wynonna make a beeline for her kitchen, turning back to Nicole and Waverly, standing there together like the world has fallen to present itself at their feet.

 

She looks to Nicole, catching her smiling down like Waverly is the dawn she’s been waiting for her entire life, and Waverly supposes that, in a way, it has.

  


-

  


The meal is the third best of her life, only surpassed by the two she has now shared with Nicole, and it’s only once she has a bite of food that she notices how ravenous she truly is.

 

Gus cooks them a small feast in the early hours of the morning, and Waverly knows there will be sadness and pain in the day that follows as they recover the other bodies, but for now, the six of them - a number that becomes eight when Nedley and Chrissy join them - revel in the ecstasy of survival.

 

They talk and smile and laugh, easily and without a heavy weight on their shoulders, and for the first time in days, Waverly feels free. Free of worry, of fear, of hesitation - if Nicole feels for her what she knows she feels for Nicole - of everything, replaced by something close to sheer bliss.

 

Because she’s sitting close to Nicole, now wearing a pair of pants hastily retrieved from her room upstairs, her thigh and arm meeting Nicole’s body completely, Nicole’s hand covering hers, discreetly curled around Nicole’s knee beneath the table.

 

The air around them feels light. They discuss everything and nothing, and after a few hours, they start to disseminate. Nedley and Chrissy leave first, not before Chrissy holds Waverly in a fierce embrace, and Curtis disappears, Waverly assumes, to begin clean-up.

 

“There’s fresh cleaning water over in the shop,” Curtis announces after returning from his absence some small time later. “It’ll still be warm, if you don’t linger here too long. I took the liberty of lighting a few candles, too.”

 

“Hey, where’s mine?” Wynonna grouses, lifting her head from Doc’s shoulder with a frown.

 

“If the two of you want to stay upstairs, then I’ll arrange yours, too,” Curtis replies with a smirk, waiting for Wynonna’s reply. “But you’re outta luck if you think I’m goin’ to ride out to the homestead to heat some damn water.”

 

Waverly watches her sister mull the suggestion over, before she turns to Doc with a look that Waverly knows means Wynonna is about to try and soften him to whatever it is that she wants.

 

“This way you won’t have to make sure I don’t slide off the side of that horse,” Wynonna suggests softly, and she watches Doc frown in mock contemplation before he smiles broadly down at her.

 

“Of course,” Doc replies with a soft inflection in the last syllable. “I’m not certain I wouldn’t do the same myself. The homestead’ll be just fine for a night without us.”

 

“I think we might retire also,” Waverly says softly, resting her head on Nicole’s shoulder as she looks out to the others. “You must be exhausted, too.”

 

“Worryin’ about you lot has aged me ten years in a day, I swear,” Gus scowls, but Waverly knows she means only kindness.

 

“Thank you for everythin’, Gus. For the food and everythin’ else,” Nicole says warmly next to her, and Waverly watches as Gus softens in response to Nicole’s acknowledgment.

 

“Thank you for bringin’ this one back to us,” Gus says with a heavy tone to her voice, as though she’s trying to convey just how deeply her gratitude runs. “All of us are in your debt, Miss Haught.”

 

“No such thing as debt between family, is there?” Nicole says in reply, watching Gus smile as she takes the meaning from Nicole’s words.

 

“No,” she replies with a laugh, before looking to Nicole with a wide smile. “Right you are, Deputy. You’ll do well to remember that, too, the next time you have to help around this place.”

 

Waverly’s heart leaps with the small response, because it’s more than something simple. It’s recognition that Nicole is welcome as a part of this family. It’s recognition that Nicole is one of them, and Waverly isn’t certain she can articulate how much that means.

 

“I’m afraid she’ll be busy, for a while, at least. There are half a dozen things I’ve been dreamin’ of havin’ in the shop before she can do anythin’ of yours,” Waverly teases back to her aunt, feeling Nicole chuckle beside her. “If she assents, of course.”

 

“I don’t think you’re gonna have much trouble there, baby girl,” Wynonna replies with a smirk, throwing a glance to Nicole’s smitten expression.

 

“Right,” Gus says, standing, wiping her hands on her apron and looking to Curtis. “If you want this old man to heat some water, we’d best ask now before he falls asleep at the table.”

 

“If it’s not a bother?” Wynonna asks, and there’s no teasing in her voice now, just a genuine note of concern. It sobers Waverly, watching the realness of her sister, the hint of insecurity in such a simple, small question.

 

“Of course it’s not, darlin’,” Gus and Curtis both answer at once, and she knows it’s a horrible thing, the worst even, but not the first time she’s thought how much better off the both of them are with the kindness of her aunt and uncle, instead of the harsh, violent hand of her father.

 

“It’d be a comfort,” Gus offers, noticing the insecurity woven through Wynonna’s fingers, reaching for her hand to disrupt it. “Knowin’ everyone was close. For one night, at least.”

 

Wynonna smiles, a small reluctant thing that Waverly can almost see travel down her arms and pass into Gus’s hands, until she’s smiling in the echo of Wynonna, before Wynonna moves away.

 

“That’s settled,” Wynonna says with a sigh, and Waverly watches her wash away the insecurity like water off her back. “Good thing, too. I definitely wouldn’t have managed the ride without fallin’ asleep.”

 

They all stand then, and Waverly finds herself moved from person to person, until she’s so full of affection that she thinks she might burst, before Curtis walks them to the door.

 

“Rest well, girls,” Curtis says kindly to the both of them, looking to Oakley, fast asleep in Nicole’s arms. “And don’t you rush in the mornin’. You heard Nedley, he doesn’t want to see you before noon.”

 

“Thank you, Curtis,” Nicole says one last time, for the both of them, and he only smiles warmly in reply, watching as Waverly folds herself effortlessly around Nicole’s side before they turn to make their way across the road.

 

Waverly hears a small piece of the conversation that makes her heart glow as they leave, of Wynonna replying to Gus’s question of one room or two with a _one will be enough, I think,_ that lifts the last vestige of exhaustion from her own body. _Finally,_ she thinks, imagining the warmth undoubtedly settling over Wynonna and Doc at Wynonna’s confirmation, before casting her mind to her own present.

 

Because sitting that closely to Nicole hadn’t come without a cost. Sitting with her hand on Nicole’s leg, feeling the strong muscles twitch beneath her fingertips, hadn’t come without a price, and now Waverly is ravenous for something else all together, even in spite of her exhaustion. They make their way across the street, her hand tucked easily into the crook of Nicole’s elbow as she cradles Oakley, and it’s not hard to watch the rest of her life expand in front of them with each step.

 

She can feel something humming through Nicole’s blood as she hands Oakley off and unlocks the door of the shop, mirroring the magnetism in her own, unable to take her eyes off Nicole’s hands and her mouth until Nicole shuts and bolts the door. Waverly casts a look around, sighing at the thoughtfulness of Curtis having lit a number of candles to light their way through the shop.

 

The front door lingers at her back as she takes the sight of the shop in, but Waverly isn’t concerned, because the night holds no malignancy anymore. She walks up the steps at the end of the shop, smiling at the few candles that Curtis has laid out around the still steaming tub of water when she reaches the upper floor.

 

“That man is a saint,” Nicole says with slightly breathless wonder when she catches sight of the still warm water.

 

“Isn’t he just?” Waverly replies, swaying with Oakley in her arms as she eyes the warm water with a sigh, imagining it sliding warm and clean over her naked shoulders, running in rivulets down her forearms.

 

Nicole drags the tips of her fingers in the water, making some small noise of pleasure before looking up to Waverly with dark eyes.

 

“I’d kill for a bath, but this will be an excellent substitute,” Nicole says, and she moves to start shedding the clothes Waverly knows she has worn as armour these last few days.

 

The idea comes to her before she can finish her breath, and she looks to Nicole with a wide - and immensely pleased with herself - smile.

 

“I might be able to grant that wish, you know,” Waverly says, trying not to let her idea get ahead of her before Nicole even agrees.

 

“What do you mean?” Nicole asks curiously, looking to her with a raised eyebrow. “How could we…?”

 

“I have a key,” Waverly says simply, shuffling Oakley a little. “The woman gave me one after I started providin’ the soap and scents she offers there, out of gratitude. The intention was that I could come and go outside of the busy times, when I’d closed the shop and brought a new basket of supplies to her. No one's ever there when I do go, nobody else has a key, and everybody else is operatin’ under the assumption that there’s a curfew, so we won’t…we’ll have it to ourselves.”

 

“Really?” Nicole asks, her eyes wide with the desire to immerse herself in steaming hot water after the last few days battling heavily with her sense of reason. “But, what if we’re seen?”

 

“We have a more than valid reason to be there,” Waverly says, already having thought ahead. “You’re the only female deputy. I think it’s more than reasonable for you to escort me there after my rescue. We certainly couldn’t have Nedley keepin’ an eye on me in there, could we?”

 

“No, but…” She can see the hesitation, not of being there with Waverly, but of them being caught there, of them being seen, of everything they’ve built in the last few hours being destroyed by a happenstance appearance from the attendant.

 

And Waverly isn’t naïve, she knows this isn’t the most sensible idea, and she knows they’re risking something extraordinary by going, but she’s still on a high from this evening, from sitting next to Nicole, from holding her hand, that she thinks the risk is assuaged by reason and by her own momentarily bold heart.

 

That, and the fact that she feels covered in dust and blood and fear, and her knees are beginning to ache, and nothing short of a full bath, not even Nicole’s body around hers, will ease that.

 

“I’m not bein’ nonchalant about the risk,” Waverly says to her, and she knows her eyes will be pleading softly as much as her voice. “I know that it isn’t sensible, but... I _really_ want a bath.”

 

They both laugh then, at the sincerity in Waverly’s voice, and Nicole smiles, a beautiful, soft smile, before nodding to her.

 

“Of course,” Nicole replies, and Waverly wonders absently what she would have to ask for in order for Nicole to deny it. Whether Nicole would give her the world as simply.

 

Her heart says yes, and so do Nicole’s eyes.

 

“Come on, then,” Nicole says, winking, and Waverly sees a hint of playfulness, a hint of the woman Nicole is when she’s not clouded by worry and work, and can’t help but let the light flood from her skin in response. “Before reason finds me instead.”

  


-

  


Waverly finds her way inside the baths with the practised ease of someone who has done this a hundred times in the dark, Nicole standing back with a hastily packed bundle of clean clothes for them both, Oakley awake enough to walk herself at their feet.

 

It’s blissfully deserted, filled with the cold quietness of a lack of human presence, and Waverly sighs in relief as Nicole closes the door behind them. Oakley sniffs around in front of them for a while before coming back to their feet, signaling that all is well. They’re alone.

 

Waverly begins the routine that is as familiar to her as breathing, bending to light the fire, fetching the buckets of cold water to heat over the fire, lining the soaps and scents between the two tubs closest together, trying not to blush with the weight of Nicole’s eyes on her as she does so. Because it feels like a dance, like some sort of intimate movement, the starting verse of a poetic odyssey, as Nicole watches every small movement her body makes.

 

“You’ll strain your eyes,” Waverly says with a tongue in cheek playfulness, looking over her shoulder as she places the last bucket in front of the fire, ready to sit and wait as they heat.

 

“So be it,” Nicole says, throwing a practised eye around the room before walking towards Waverly, sliding her arms around Waverly’s waist and tugging her close until their hips knock lightly together.

 

“I like you like this,” Waverly admits, humming at the feeling of Nicole moving into her space so easily, at the feeling of her hands spread wide at the base of her spine.

 

“Like what?” Nicole asks her curiously, her eyes moving from Waverly’s lips to her neck.

 

“Open with me,” Waverly says shyly, unable to smother the blush before it breaks. “Like you were after we kissed for the first time. Open in your wantin’ of me.”

 

“Allow me to make somethin’ very clear,” Nicole returns, her voice smooth like oil on her skin. “I always want you. _Always_. I spend half the time wishin’ I could be this open in wantin’ you always, and not only when we’re alone.”

 

“I want you, too,” Waverly says, leaning up to wrap her arms around Nicole’s shoulders, locking her hands together behind Nicole’s head, relaxing in the knowledge that Oakley will alert them if need be. “I always want you, too. And I know we can’t be like this all the time, but we’re alone now. And we will be when we go back to the shop, too.”

 

“Thank the lord for that,” Nicole replies, licking her lips before she leans in and kisses Waverly so soundly her knees feel weak. “Because I’ve been wantin’ you in my arms, properly, since the moment I saw you in those mines. Since the moment I woke up alone, if I’m pickin’ hairs.”

 

“I hate that you had to wake up alone,” Waverly says with a grimace, her face falling. “I hate it. I was so worried you’d think it meant I didn’t want you, or that I was runnin’ away, but—“

 

Nicole’s lips close over hers with the only cure for her heartache, nipping at Waverly’s lower lip until she parts them and Nicole kisses her deeply, her tongue drawing a low moan from Waverly’s lungs.

 

“I know you didn’t run,” Nicole says quietly, almost whispering against her lips, her forehead against Waverly’s. “I knew the second I saw the watch gone, baby. I knew you didn’t run.”

 

“Hmmm,” Waverly breathes against Nicole, her body warming even without the water slowly heating beside them. “I like that.”

 

“You do?” Nicole asks, but the question’s rhetorical, she knows it is, because she’s smiling like she already knows the answer.

 

“I do, _baby_ ,” Waverly replies, watching Nicole’s flesh ripple in her neck at the returned endearment. “I’ll show you just how much I do when we’re home.”

 

“Home?” Nicole asks with a smile that’s more hesitant than before. “That’s home now?”

 

“If you want it to be?” Waverly offers, trying to answer the question Nicole is too polite to ask. Whether Waverly means home for her, too.

 

“I’d like that,” Nicole answers quietly, softly, with the ghost of a tear in her eye, and Waverly feels her palms warm as Nicole’s pulse heats beneath her hands. “I’d like that very much, Waverly.”

 

“Promise me you’re real,” Waverly says suddenly, unable to reconcile how such a person could be here in front her, after the cruelty life has given her before now.

 

“Promise me you are, too?” Nicole breathes, and it only makes Waverly’s hands tighten at her neck, because they’re both scarred by the hands they’ve been dealt, and yet here they stand, alive and in each other’s shadows.

 

And it settles in a special place within her chest, that brief show of fear in Nicole’s eyes, because she knows vulnerability is not something Nicole shows anyone else, but here she is with handfuls of it, presenting it to Waverly as easily as she draws breath.

 

“Promise,” Waverly replies with the softest sweep of her thumb over Nicole’s lips.

 

“Thank goodness for that,” Nicole says with a laugh that’s almost a sob, before Waverly leans up on her tiptoes, pressing a kiss to Nicole’s lips as the strength returns to Nicole’s body and she draws Waverly against her tightly, until nothing remains between them.

 

The kiss drops a stick of dynamite into her blood, and she surges up against Nicole's mouth, feeling her grip tighten at Waverly’s hips, and suddenly she wishes they hadn’t taken themselves so far from the privacy of her room. She forces a wave of calmness over herself though, in spite of her want, sobering her, wanting to show Nicole that she’s responsible, that she can be sensible in the face of this desire, too.

 

Even though _all_ she can think about is taking Nicole to her bed again.

 

“For someone that hasn’t done that before now, you’re a very good kisser, Waverly Earp,” Nicole says when Waverly drops back down to her toes.

 

“You’re just sayin’ that,” Waverly throws over her shoulder when she moves to test the temperature of the water.

 

“The warmth in my fingertips says otherwise,” Nicole answers her with a smirk. “And so does my heartbeat, which - I think you know well enough - can’t lie.”

 

Waverly blushes at the compliment, more than half-pleased, because honestly, her inexperience is something she can’t deny has played on her mind. Her cheeks heat like the water beneath her finger tips, a while off from being warm enough yet, but the sleeve of her coat —of Nicole’s coat, she reminds herself— rubs over the raw skin on her wrists, and she hisses with a hint of pain.

 

“Are you alright?” Nicole asks gently, looking to her with a worried frown when Waverly turns at the sound of her voice.

 

“I’m fine,” Waverly assures her quickly, shifting to face Nicole. “I’m fine, it’s just… I hadn’t realised until the rope came off how…”

 

“Bad they were?” Nicole finishes for her, stepping towards her, taking both of Waverly’s wrists gently in her hands. “Lord, I’m sorry, Waverly. I should have asked how they were sooner. Can I do anythin’?”

 

“It’s fine,” Waverly echoes again, meeting her eye to ensure Nicole knows she means it. “I’ve barely noticed them, I’ve been so pleasantly distracted, but… I should clean them up, before I get in the bath. Do you think you could…”

 

“Of course,” Nicole says quickly, nodding as her thumbs smooth over the inside of Waverly’s wrists. “Of course I can. What can I do?”

 

Waverly gestures over to where she knows the attendant keeps the towels, sending Nicole to fetch a few for them both before taking the clean dressing strips out of the basket they had bought with them.

 

She won’t wrap them until she’s back in the room and can treat and dress them properly, but she knows they’ll be cleaner, better to wash the wounds with, than the towels provided.

 

“I just…” Waverly begins, shrugging off both coats, rolling up the sleeves of Nicole’s borrowed—and now ruined— shirt before dipping the smaller pieces of cloth into the warm water in one of the buckets. “Need to clean them as best I can. I have a few things to help with the pain and healin’ at the shop, but if you just dab the cloth around them, it’ll…”

 

She trails off again, because Nicole has already taken the scrap of fabric from her hand gently, and is washing the dirt and dust away from the abrasions, cleaning them as delicately as she can.

 

“You’ll tell me if I hurt you?” Nicole asks, looking up from her task briefly, watching Waverly’s eyes for any sign of pain.

 

“Promise,” Waverly replies with a soft smile, a rush of affection flooding her at the care Nicole is taking in her movements.

 

Nicole dips the cloth back into the warm water without her prompting before moving to the other wrist, having more than competently cleaned the first. The tension in her stomach eases then, the anticipated pain nonexistent, thanks to Nicole’s careful attention. Because it hurts, of course it hurts, but Nicole’s so gentle, and so intent, and there’s such a beautifully distracting frown on her brow, that Waverly barely notices.

 

Waverly expects Nicole to stop once both wrists are clean, but she doesn’t, she simply sets the now dirty cloth on the ground, picking up one of the smaller towels she had just retrieved, dipping the end in the water before moving the towel in soft lines up Waverly’s arms, removing the dirt and leaving a clean glow in its wake.

 

“It might be a little nicer if you don’t have to do this once you’re in the water,” Nicole says innocently, and Waverly knows from the look on her eyes that it’s half-altruistic, and half an excuse to touch her, too.

 

She finds she doesn’t mind a drop, either way.

 

Nicole stops when she has cleaned up as far as the shirt still covering Waverly’s body allows, pausing and waiting for Waverly to make the next move, so she makes it, slipping her arms out of the sleeves and holding the body of the shirt against her torso, and watching as Nicole tries to hide a blush when the action reveals the swell of her breast. She diverts her eyes immediately, the gentlewoman that she is, but Waverly ducks her head, catching Nicole’s eye before she can return to the task in front of her.

 

“You can look, you know,” Waverly says quietly. “I mean… you don’t have to look away. I… I want you to look. If you want to.”

 

Nicole chances a look then, as Waverly watches on with a rumbling deep in her gut, a hunger for something food will never quell, up to Waverly’s eyes to affirm her consent, before lowering her gaze slowly. Waverly feels Nicole’s eyes on her as heavy as a physical touch, shivering beneath it a little before Nicole takes a deep breath and meets her gaze.

 

“You truly are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, Waverly Earp,” Nicole half-sighs, and Waverly wishes she had some way to capture this moment, because it’s beautifully imperfect.

 

Because here they sit, on the other side of chaos, both nursing not inconsequential injuries, dirty and driven to the edge of human endurance, and yet here, with Nicole’s hands on her arms, soothing away the pain, and her eyes, equal part concerned and ravenous, Waverly doesn’t think she’s ever been happier.

 

“As are you,” Waverly answers in her lullaby-soft voice, freeing one hand to rest on Nicole’s cheek. It would be the simplest thing in the world, in that moment, to pluck her heart out of her chest if Nicole asked for it.

 

But she doesn’t ask for anything; instead, she _gives_.

 

She runs the cloth up and down Waverly’s arms, over the muscle, aching from remaining clenched in the cold for so long, wiping from it the trauma from the last few days, leaving clean skin and peace behind. Nicole copies the slow movements of her hands up Waverly’s other arm, across her shoulders before dropping to her knees, moving the freshly soaked cloth over Waverly’s feet and ankles when she steps out of her boots. She helps Waverly out of the borrowed pants after that, cleaning up and over the swell of her calves to the middle of her thigh where the shirt falls to, before she rises to her feet, her cheeks glowing with something Waverly thinks must be admiration.

 

“You really have the most gorgeous legs,” Nicole admits breathlessly, blushing. “You know, the first time I saw a flash of ankle, I thought I might faint.”

 

“Now if that isn’t nonsense,” Waverly says with a smile, shaking her head before she catches sight of the sincerity in Nicole’s eyes.

 

“It’s not,” Nicole replies with a smile of her own. “It was the first day I escorted you down to the General Store. You walked up the stairs to fetch something, and—“

 

“I remember,” Waverly breathes, quite simply taken aback by Nicole’s simple noticing of her so early on, because it touches a place deep inside her heart that she thought might never be warmed.

 

Because people notice her sister, people notice her name, and it’s reputation, but they never notice _her_. Small and simple Waverly. No one ever has. No one except Nicole.

 

“Why did you notice me?” she asks before she can help herself, or scold herself for being just a touch too curious or insecure. “I mean—“

 

“I know what you mean,” Nicole answers simply, smiling a soft smile Waverly knows is reserved for her alone. “I just…”

 

She thinks Nicole might be trying to fetch something from her memory to spare Waverly’s feelings, but it isn’t worry on her face when Waverly looks, it’s wonder.

 

“Waverly,” Nicole begins, and Waverly thinks it’s reverence in her voice, but she isn’t sure. Because she’s not certain that she’s heard it before. “How could I not?”

 

She looks for some sign of insincerity, or falseness for kindnesses sake, not because she wants to, but because she always has, training herself so carefully to search out those who would sell her a lie, be it with good or bad intent, but there’s nothing there other than blissful truth, and Waverly could _cry_ in the face of it.

 

“I don’t know what I did to deserve this,” Waverly says against a thickness in her throat.

 

“Waverly,” Nicole breathes in reply, her eyes glinting like a precious metal in the candle and firelight. “Baby, you _endured_.”

  


-

  


Nicole begins filling the bath with the now hot buckets of water while Waverly undresses completely, and Nicole seems content to avert her eyes out of politeness, so used to observing it, before she remembers that she’s allowed to look.

 

Waverly feels Nicole brush past her with another bucket for the bath, her breath whispering across Waverly’s bare shoulder as she shrugs the shirt off of her shoulders, the fabric bunching at her waist.

 

“You’ll let me know if I can be of service in that endeavour, I hope,” Nicole offers playfully in relation to her undressing, winking and inciting a deep blush over Waverly’s chest.

 

“Later, I’ll most definitely take you up on that offer, Deputy,” Waverly replies with a runaway smile, letting the shirt drop to the ground as she wraps a towel around herself to ward off the shivers before she can sink into the hot water. “But, for now, I think I’d rather you not see how dreadful this shirt is. I’m afraid I might owe you another.”

 

She frowns to Nicole in apology, but Nicole only smiles in reply, dropping another bucket into the bath as Waverly tips a small bottle of perfumed oil into the water.

 

“I’m hopin’ it won’t be the last thing of mine that you borrow. I must confess, I was more than a little touched when I saw it gone. It helped, knowin' you had somethin’ of mine,” Nicole admits with a hopeful smile before looking curiously to her. “What’s that you’re addin’ in?”

 

“Oil,” Waverly answers with a smile before tipping another bottle which makes the water give off a perfectly sweet aroma when mixed with the oil. “Makes the skin softer. And smell finer. Helps counter some of the harshness of the soap.”

 

“Gosh, your soap hardly needs it,” Nicole replies with an impressed look across her face. “It’s a damn sight gentler than any other I’ve ever used.”

 

“I wish I could make it more so,” Waverly says, her head slipping easily into the mindset she uses in the shop without thinking, and Nicole sees it, too, if her smile is anything to go by.

 

“I love watchin’ you think about your work,” Nicole says before shaking her head. “It’s truly your passion, isn’t it?”

 

“I suppose it is,” Waverly answers with a grin as she swirls her hand in the now full tub, testing the temperature. “Is it worthwhile, do you think? I know some here think I’m only a silly girl playin’ with flowers, but I think I make a difference? I think I help those willin’ to be helped?”

 

“I know you do,” Nicole offers easily, moving to Waverly’s side, having refilled the buckets and set them to heat for her own bath. “You help more than I think you know. Certainly more than folks admit to you.”

 

Waverly can only wonder at that, on how some can be so seemingly effortless with kindness, while some act as though such a thing doesn’t exist. So often she can’t help but wonder how different that might be if her name weren’t Earp. Nicole’s hand on her bare elbow brings her back to herself, her eyes soft with concern and her voice gentle when she speaks.

 

“Is everythin’ alright?” Nicole asks, and Waverly can feel her heels on the ground all of a sudden, firming herself in this moment.

 

“Yes,” Waverly replies simply, because it is. She offers Nicole a look to validate her words before accepting Nicole’s hand and stepping into the bath.

 

Waverly groans as the warmth envelops her calves, the sound rumbling through her chest, into Nicole’s palm where their hands meet, that’s how good it is. She slips the towel from her body, Nicole collecting it over her arm smoothly as she helps Waverly down into the water.

 

It’s heaven, the embrace of the hot water, the moment only made better by the look on Nicole’s face when she sighs and her breasts move above the waterline, before sinking beneath it again. Because Nicole can scarcely tear her eyes away, but it’s not the sort of expression she’s seen on Champ’s face from time to time. It’s provocative in its origin, but it’s not something that makes her feel exposed or uncomfortable.

 

It’s something that makes her feel _wanted_ instead.

 

She meets Nicole’s eye when it meanders up her body, seeing a hunger, and Waverly is overtaken with the urge to gather her things and run to her room, to some private space, so Nicole can have every part of her. The look on Nicole’s face is an echo of her own, and she’s surprised Nicole’s next breath isn’t a growl when it issues from her lungs.

 

“This may be an incendiary request,” Waverly says with a roughness that wasn’t there a moment ago, unable to take her eyes off Nicole. “But I’d love to wash my hair, only I’m not sure I can…”

 

“What is the point in havin’ me at your disposal if I can’t help?” Nicole trills, a smile rising from her as she reaches for the bar of soap Waverly had prepared to do such a thing.

 

She allows herself to slide beneath the water completely, taking in a lungful of air before the world shuts itself out and all she can hear is the _thump, thump_ of her own heartbeat in her ears, pulsing like a river in flood, unsure whether the increased pace is the hot water’s doing, or Nicole’s.

 

_Nicole’s,_ she confirms when she emerges, wiping the water from her face, her eyes opening to a vision in the darkness. Because Nicole is beautiful - truly, impossibly, beautiful - never more so than now with the firelight casting a red crown atop her head.

 

“Hi,” Waverly says a little dumbly, her eyes watching Nicole’s hands work the soap into a lather, following the movements of fingers that stir something in her veins.

 

“Hi, yourself,” Nicole answers with a wide smile before motioning for Waverly to scoot back against the edge of the bath so Nicole can sit on the stool behind her and start massaging the lather against her scalp.

 

She has to bite her lip to stop a moan when Nicole begins moving her fingers more firmly against her head, her short nails scratching slightly before the pads of her fingertips push pressure outwards like a bloom.

 

“Good lord, that’s nice,” Waverly gives over in the end, groaning none too softly when Nicole’s nails drag down the back of her scalp.

 

Nicole doesn’t say anything in reply, she just doubles her efforts, her fingers moving as though they’ve inherited some sort of mastery in their technique, to the point where Waverly isn’t sure she’s not simply liquid, barely held together in human form.

 

“You don’t ever have to do anythin’ else, do you?” Waverly asks hopefully, turning to catch Nicole’s eye, watching Nicole’s breath stall when she sees how black Waverly’s eyes must be. “You can stay by my side and do that forever?”

 

“It would be my pleasure,” Nicole says smoothly, winking at her before helping Waverly dip her head into the water so she can coax the soap from her hair before she sits up again.

 

“No,” Waverly replies, feeling the heat of her own cheeks as she catches a stray droplet of water rolling around to follow her jawline. “I think that would most definitely be my pleasure.”

 

And she’s not even joking, because she can feel how much Nicole has drawn from her, a wetness sliding between her thighs when she turns in the bath to face Nicole, even with the water around her, simply from touching her like this.

 

Nicole’s eyes move across Waverly’s shoulders, over the lingering traces of her attention at the swell of her breast, a bruise of fading purple, as Waverly settles her chin against the edge of the tub, like she had what feels like weeks ago, when Nicole had been naked in the bath next to her. She throws a glance over Nicole’s shoulder to the fire behind, seeing none of the buckets beginning to issue steam like they need to if Nicole wants a warm bath, save maybe one of them, frowning at how long she knows they’ll likely be here.

 

And how long they’ll be for their bed yet.

 

“I know, they’re gonna take forever to warm up,” Nicole says, catching the look on her face.

 

“You could share mine, you know?” Waverly offers the second the idea is born in her head. “I mean, I know we need to be careful, so I could get out now, but… it’ll be a damn sight quicker than you waitin’ for that water to warm.”

 

“I don’t wanna kick you out,” Nicole says, shaking her head almost immediately. “You need the hot water more than I do, Waverly. It doesn’t need to be hot, I can have a tepid wash.”

 

“No,” Waverly replies, shaking her head this time. “No, you deserve this warmth as much as I do.”

 

She casts a glance around the room, because she knows there’s only one entrance to this chamber, and Oakley’s currently curled up near it by the fire. She’s well aware of how dangerous the idea is, too, but she also knows Oakley will alert them well before anyone gets near to that door.

 

And this water is like a dream, but she can only imagine how much better it would be with Nicole in here with her.

 

“I’m not tryin’ to lead you astray, I promise,” Waverly offers sincerely, because she truly doesn’t wish Nicole to think her reckless. “I know it’s not somethin’ I should even consider mentioning, and I know once curfew is lifted, we likely won’t be able to do it again, but it would be so lovely to have you in here with me.”

 

She sees the war rage behind Nicole’s eyes like it had done before she’d agreed for them to come here to begin with, but the battle is shorter fought this time, because Nicole can’t take her eyes off Waverly, and the prize being dangled in front of her nose is remarkably more tempting.

 

“You could even fill the other tub, in case someone comes in?” Waverly says by way of a compromise, but Nicole has already made her mind up, toeing off her boots.

 

“We’ll have to be quick,” Nicole says with a wry smile as she begins to undo her vest, and Waverly can feel herself warm at the sight. “Rather, I’ll have to be, but if I am…”

 

She trails off, walking to the fire to take the hottest bucket, tipping it into Waverly’s bath to rewarm the water before stripping down completely. Waverly can barely take her eyes off of Nicole as she does so, watching her reveal piece by piece of skin that makes Waverly’s mouth water and her hands ache with the desire to touch it. She wipes the better part of dirt off herself before standing in front of Waverly, with leagues of perfectly imperfect skin.

 

“I like your scars, you know,” Waverly says, scooting back to make room so she can face Nicole when she steps into the hot water, her eyes fluttering closed at the first touch of heat.

 

“You do?” Nicole questions once she comes to her senses a little more, when she can think around the pure wonder of the warm bath. “I’ve never liked them, myself.”

 

“Why?” Waverly asks, tracing the line of what looks like a knife scar on Nicole’s shoulder.

 

“They’re a reminder that people can hurt me, I think,” Nicole answers without missing a beat, although her eyes look miles away. “They’re a reminder of weakness. Of my weakness.”

 

“I think they’re a reminder of strength,” Waverly says, leaning forward to kiss Nicole’s shoulder over the scar, before raising Nicole’s hands from beneath the water, dredging them from the depths of warmth. “You talk about me enduring, Nicole, but so have you. I think they’re beautiful, because they show how strong you are. How strong you’ve had to become.”

 

Nicole doesn’t respond at once, instead she leans forward, drawing Waverly in for a kiss that melts the edges of Waverly’s soul, until she worries for her form remaining solid, pulling back with a groan.

 

“If only I had a bath at the shop,” Waverly grouses, and Nicole chuckles softly at the look on her face.

 

“I’m afraid we’d never get out of it,” Nicole says, smiling broadly at Waverly’s frown. “And it makes these occurrences rather special, don’t you think?”

 

“You’re almost too reasonable for your own good, you know that, don’t you?” Waverly returns smoothly, her mouth a tight smile that blossoms when Nicole draws her close.

 

“We really shouldn’t delay, but I’d be remiss not to enjoy this for a moment longer,” Nicole half-purrs, turning Waverly to sit between her thighs so her back is to Nicole’s front and she can lean against Nicole and relax completely, leaving her body to buoy itself, with Nicole as her anchor.

 

They allow the silence of the room, save the crackling of the fire, to comfort them, envelope them, for a moment before Nicole presses a kiss to her temple.

 

“I thought I’d be too late,” Nicole admits quietly, her voice scarcely audible, even in the complete vacuum of noise. “I didn’t think I’d be able to make it to you in time. When I saw you there, alive... god, it’s a miracle I didn’t collapse on the spot.”

 

“It’s a wonder I didn’t when you arrived, either,” Waverly returns, her breath leaving in a rush. “I knew… I knew you’d be tryin’, as hard as you possibly could, but I thought… I thought it might have been over, too.”

 

“It’s not,” Nicole says with a fierceness to her voice that wasn’t there a moment ago, her arms tightening around Waverly’s body. “It’s not over. And you’re outta luck if you think I’m ever gonna let anyone take you away from us like that again.”

 

“Well, I could bear to be away from the others, mind,” Waverly replies with a smirk, turning in Nicole’s arms a little. “But you... I don’t wish to ever be parted from you again.”

 

“You don’t have to be,” Nicole says, smiling with a deep sincerity down to her. “You never have to be, unless you want to be.”

 

“You won’t get sick of me?” Waverly asks with a raised eyebrow, placing her palm against Nicole’s cheek.

 

“Never,” Nicole replies immediately, shaking her head, and Waverly melts into Nicole’s embrace when she holds her tighter still. “How could I?”

 

“Most people seem to, at some point or another,” Waverly says with a shrug, and she doesn’t mean it to be self-deprecating, it’s simply the truth.

 

“Last time I checked, I wasn’t most people,” Nicole breathes,  a lightness there that makes Waverly’s spirit lift.

 

“You’re right, Nicole Haught,” Waverly whispers, laying her head against Nicole’s chest, the beating heart beneath her ear proof that she’s not dreaming. “You’re everythin’ else.”

  


-

  


Nicole drags herself from the water shortly after, the both of them conscious of the fact that they’re testing the limits of their luck to linger overlong. That and the fact that it’s becoming harder and harder for Waverly to keep her touches light and innocent, rather than lingering on Nicole’s skin.

 

It’s hard not to reach for her when she stands beside the bath, her body dripping wet and inviting. It’s even harder when she holds a hand to Waverly to help her from the water, too, before beginning to dry herself with one of the towels.

 

The column of her neck stretches beneath her hands, drawing Waverly’s eye to the almost faded choreography of bruises at the swell of Nicole’s breast that Waverly had left herself. She knows they can’t touch here, but her hands itch, her palms ache for the sensation of Nicole’s skin leaping beneath them. Of Nicole warm over her, or Nicole _inside_ her, and suddenly she needs that, urgently.

 

Nicole catches her gaze in the dim candlelight of the room, and she watches as Nicole’s pupils blow wide at the enormity of want in Waverly’s eyes, and she understands.

 

“Take me home,” Waverly breathes into the air as it thickens between them, reaching for Nicole’s hand to spark the fire in her blood. “Please, Nicole. Now.”

  


-


	22. twenty two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Wild-West Monday, everyone! 
> 
> I'm not even going to say how many chapters there are left, because it'll make me far too sad... I hope you enjoy this chapter though, we're still Waverly for one last chapter before we move to Nicole for the final one. Don't read it on the bus maybe, and I'll see you all next week for the epilogue. 
> 
> Thank you as always to @iamthegaysmurf for her beta skillz with a z. Swing by [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigerlo_) as always if you have any questions or queries.

-

 

They make it to the top of the stairs, just, before Nicole’s lips close over her own, her foot making the last step when Nicole’s tongue teases her bottom lip.

 

She’s excited, her skin positively trembling beneath Nicole’s hands when they close around her waist and she begins walking Waverly back towards the bed. It’s still not enough contact though, they’re not close enough, and she needs to resolve that immediately, catching Nicole’s eye and seeing the same thought echoed there.

 

The solution is simple in the end, effortless on both their parts, because Nicole bends down a little, collecting Waverly around the back of her thighs, and she understands, wrapping her legs around Nicole’s waist in a movement as smooth as though they’ve been practicing for years. It’s something else altogether, being held in Nicole’s arms like this. It makes her feel safe, it makes her feel wanted, it makes her feel desired, and her bones are alight with it.

 

Waverly hadn’t bothered to dress fully before they left the baths, neither of them had, only throwing on the essentials, things that wouldn’t incriminate them should they run into anyone else unexpectedly, and she’s immensely thankful for that now. Because Nicole’s shirt is open and loose, unbuttoned low enough for Waverly to see the milky rise of her breast from her higher vantage point, heaving beneath the exertion of kissing and carrying Waverly at the same time.

 

Waverly's own shirt is open, too, the bare skin over her heart exposed to Nicole's mouth, and she doesn't waste a second of it.

 

The first kiss is innocent enough, high, to the hollow just below her chin, but the second lingers, and Nicole moves Waverly’s shirt with her cheek to expose the skin for the third, pebbled and raised, and Waverly can’t help but push her chest forward to marry the molten heat of Nicole’s mouth to her flesh more quickly.

 

She feels bolder in her want of Nicole now, less hesitant, less scared of showing Nicole what she wants, lest Nicole think her greedy. Because Nicole likes seeing Waverly’s desire for her, she likes Waverly moving towards her pleasure, so it seems a shame to waste a second of it not sharing.

 

Waverly’s hands move into Nicole’s hair, damp around her shoulders, as Waverly’s own is, too. They curve around the arc of her skull, drawing Nicole closer until they’re both groaning into the kiss. She feels Nicole’s knees hit the bed, feels Nicole begin to lower her against the soft mattress she wasn’t sure she’d ever feel again, marveling at how different it feels to be here with Nicole in comparison to across the street at the Inn.

 

It feels like their first time all over again, only this time Waverly knows things, a small multitude of things she didn’t know before. She knows how she likes to be touched, and how Nicole likes to be touched, too. She knows what Nicole’s bare breast feels like, full and heavy in her hand, and she knows what her own voice sounds like when she comes.

 

Nicole’s arms bracket either side of Waverly’s hips on the edge of the bed when the kiss breaks, and she leans back to watch Waverly, sitting there, almost panting with desire. For her. _All_ for her.

 

She doesn’t realise she’s said as much out loud until Nicole’s blush deepens clear across her cheeks, and she bites her lip with an extraordinary hunger that makes Waverly’s core ache.

 

Nicole’s lips meet hers more firmly for the next kiss, and there’s an intensity there that Waverly hasn’t ever felt before, a raw need that Nicole kept hold of the first time. So as not to scare her, so as not to intimidate, maybe, but she needn’t have worried, because it only makes Waverly want her more. She pushes her tongue against Nicole’s, meets her beat for beat in her urgency, makes a noise that sounds like a growl when Nicole moves over her, leaning her thigh against Waverly heavily, pushing down to create a burst of beautiful friction.

 

Her hair drapes over them both, still a little water heavy and red and ticklish, and it’s enough to make Waverly smile when it falls across her cheeks, and laugh a little when Nicole moves to kiss her jawline, heading towards her neck.

 

“I hope you’re not laughin’ at my prowess,” Nicole purrs to her pulse, and Waverly can feel her smiling.

 

“No,” Waverly says with a chuckle, moving into the warmth of Nicole’s hand on the other side of her neck. “Your hair, it’s…”

 

“In the way,” Nicole growls, finishing the thought for her, leaning back off of her and sitting up, pushing the long strands of red out of her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t apologise,” Waverly says, meeting her eye and biting her lip as she looks at the blush across Nicole’s chest that she put there. “I like it, a great deal, but…”

 

She rolls away from Nicole, reaching for a length of ribbon on her night stand, tying her own hair up quickly atop her head in a bun with one piece before reaching for Nicole.

 

“Come here?” Waverly asks gently, and Nicole moves easily between her thighs, kneeling on the ground so she’s at the perfect level for Waverly to draw Nicole’s hair up into her hands.

 

She scrapes her nails along Nicole’s scalp as she collects the hair, a little teasing and for a moment longer than she needs to, not rushing her action, until she has it in a sort of fountain before wrapping the ribbon around the hair deftly, and tying it into a little bow.

 

“There,” Waverly says, leaning back a little so she can see her handiwork, sighing happily when she catches sight of how soft it makes Nicole look. “Now I’ll still be able to toy with it, but it’ll be out of your way.”

 

“How do I look?” Nicole asks her curiously, watching Waverly’s hands where they settle on her arms, urging her down and pulling closer as she lays back on the bed, shivering when Nicole follows her.

 

“Like you’re so lovely, I never want to share you with anyone else outside of this room,” Waverly admits playfully, her hands moving from Nicole’s biceps, up to her neck, curling around the back of it, dipping her fingertips into the soft hair there.

 

“Interestin’,” Nicole hums, dropping her lips to Waverly’s neck, unhindered now. “That’s exactly what I was thinkin’ about you.”

 

She sucks her teeth and tongue against Waverly’s pulse, and Waverly feels her blood boil in her wrists, her whole body pushing up against Nicole’s, reveling in the pride that is her beating heart, because she’s alive, they’re alive, she _survived_.

 

“I don’t think I can wait,” Waverly says desperately, her hands clutching at Nicole, her fingers moving down to lift the hem of her top up in anticipation. “I know last time we took our time, and I want slow later, but for now... god, Nicole... I need you to touch me, now, please.”

 

She’s worried it’ll be too much, that she’s asking too much, that she’s pushed a little too far, or she’s been too bold with her own desire, but Nicole’s eyes darken like an eclipse, and she shivers against Waverly before she gives her a look that says _yes_ , _and I’ll tear this town to pieces with my bare hands if they stop me from giving that to you_.

 

Nicole doesn’t waste any time from that point on. Her hands move to the closures of Waverly’s shirt, letting each button slip through the eyelet before she bends and presses kiss after messy kiss to the skin she reveals.

 

Nicole’s mouth lingers on the soft rise of her breast as her hands continue to free the shirt from Waverly’s body entirely, taking Waverly’s nipple into her mouth when the last button works free, and the shirt falls completely open.

 

Strong, gentle hands move to either side of her hips, holding her rolling body down as Nicole moves to Waverly’s other breast, dropping her lips to the hollow between them before laving attention to the raised flesh, nipping the less sensitive areas with her teeth, looking up to Waverly when she draws back.

 

Her eyes are hooded in the low light of Waverly’s room, but it’s easy to see the hunger across Nicole’s shoulders, to feel it in each touch of her hands, and Waverly feels a rush of want break between her thighs, the clearly present desire visible in Nicole driving her completely wild.

 

Waverly, for her part, can barely keep her hands still. Or anything else, for that matter. Her body twists and turns beneath Nicole’s hands, searching, leaping for any friction or gratification she can, the rush of _surviving_ crashing down on her all over again.

 

Waverly’s hands start pulling at Nicole’s shirt, dragging it up her body and over her head as Nicole obliges before throwing it roughly to the side, not giving its resting place a second’s thought before she moves to the button of Nicole’s pants.

 

She isn’t wearing her belt, not anymore, having shed that and her holster while Waverly had been tying her hair up a moment ago - her guns are still within a second’s reach, should she need them, but far enough away that they’re not a bother - so it’s easy for Waverly to slip her fingertips beneath the edge of her trousers, teasing the soft skin of Nicole’s stomach for a moment before freeing the button with a sigh. Nicole leans back, and Waverly moves with her into a sitting position, tugging Nicole’s pants down her thighs, pressing a kiss to her hip for good measure before Nicole steps out of them and urges Waverly down onto her back.

 

It’s a sweet, sweet relief, feeling Nicole’s skin hot against hers. It’s a sensation she wasn’t sure she’d ever feel again, and it’s easy to lose herself in the _hum_ ringing through her body like a struck bell.

 

Nicole groans, they both do, when her leg slides between Waverly’s and she bears down with her thigh. Waverly can feel the wetness of herself against Nicole through the thin fabric of her bloomers when she does so, tantalising in its intensity.

 

“Off,” she growls rolling her hips greedily against the friction, and she hears a soft laugh from Nicole with her eyes closed. “Please, Nicole.”

 

To her credit, Nicole doesn’t hesitate, not for a second. She bends down against Waverly’s body, the tip of her ponytail tickling Waverly’s stomach, only she doesn’t give that a thought this time, because quick fingers slip beneath her waistband and pull the last undergarment down Waverly’s legs, tossing it carelessly to the side, somewhere with the rest of their clothes.

 

And all of a sudden, she’s free from her constraints, she’s free of the bonds she’s felt heavy around her wrists for the last two days, her temporary bandages the only thing interrupting the pure nakedness, and she thinks distantly that she should feel bare, she should feel exposed, but she doesn’t.

 

She feels safe, instead. She feels warm. She feels _wanted_.

 

Nicole kisses her stomach, interrupting her thoughts neatly, and her cheeks flush at the undiluted intensity in Nicole’s eyes when her own find them. She presses another kiss to Waverly’s ribs, one to each side, before trailing her fingertips up the inside of Waverly’s thighs, and Waverly can feel herself shake in anticipation, can feel herself quake beneath Nicole’s light touch, and just when she thinks Nicole might tease a little longer, just when she’s about to beg for contact, Nicole touches her.  

 

Her back bends off the bed like an arc of lightning, her gasp silent as Nicole’s fingers slide against a thick wetness, finally, and it’s all she can do to remind herself to breathe.

 

“Oh, _baby_ ,” Nicole whispers, her own voice faltering and her forehead dropping against Waverly’s chest when she feels how ready for her Waverly is.

 

“I’m-” Waverly begins, halfway through an apology, but Nicole shakes her head quickly as her fingers test Waverly for responsiveness, familiarising herself with Waverly’s body.

 

“Don’t you dare apologise for wantin’ anythin’, Waverly Earp,” Nicole growls against her lips, lowering them against Waverly’s softly as her fingers dip lower.

 

Her moan escapes audibly this time, when Nicole’s thumb works over the tight bundle of nerves up higher as her fingers dip lower, to the source of the heat, and Waverly can feel herself tighten in anticipation. Nicole feels her pause, but Waverly doesn’t give her a second to actually hesitate, taking hold of Nicole’s hand and leading her down smoothly until Nicole takes over and slides inside liquid heat.

 

It’s one finger first, and there’s only the smallest hint of discomfort this time - next to none, in fact - because it’s almost entirely eclipsed by the pleasure of having Nicole inside her again.

 

“More,” Waverly says with a sigh, draping her arms around Nicole’s neck, drawing her close, breathing hard against Nicole’s lips. “I need more, please, Nicole.”

 

Nicole obliges easily, pushing in with two fingers on the next stroke, and Waverly’s breath catches hard in her throat, so much so that her body shudders with the force of it. Because she feels full, she feels perfect, and feels whole and complete and _home_ , for the first time in her life, here with Nicole, she feels like she has found her place.

 

Nicole is not as slowly cautious with her movements this time, taking her cue from the erratic movements of Waverly’s body, reading so easily what it is Waverly needs in that moment. That she needs release. That she needs Nicole. That she needs to _feel_.

 

There will be time for gentle and slow later, the rest of their lives in fact, but here and now, the thing that matters the most is reminding herself, reminding _both_ of them, what it is that they have that’s so worth fighting for.

 

Nicole kisses her, her tongue insistent as it moves against her own, drinking in the desire that Waverly can imagine rolling off her body in waves, groaning at the depth that Waverly returns the kiss with. Waverly can feel her body drawing Nicole deeper, too, she can feel herself moving with abandon, more and more recklessly the harder Nicole pushes them both, and she knows it won’t take nearly as long to reach her peak this time.

 

She can feel Nicole sense it, her crest, she can feel Nicole ripple against her in understanding, can feel Nicole hold back in question, as if asking Waverly if this is what she wants, or whether Waverly wants her to draw it out a little longer.

 

“Now,” Waverly gasps, her nails dragging down the bare skin of Nicole’s back, as Nicole groans, her fingers curling inside her. “Now, I can’t wa—”

 

It hits her almost as hard as a physical blow. For a moment, she’s pushing against a weight that just won’t give, and then, she’s _flying_.

 

She lifts, feels suspended above her own body for a moment, as her head fills with nothing but a vague hum, like noise ceases to exist outside of her mind, and then the white recedes, and she feels the waves move through her.

 

Shudder after shudder rocks her, and she could so easily set herself adrift against the raging tide, but Nicole is there. Nicole is always there. She urges Waverly through the deluge, her mouth soft against Waverly’s own, _I’ve got you, baby, I’ve got you,_ her fingers coaxing every last drop of pleasure from her. Nicole’s there until the final gasp leaves her, and Waverly falls, the last lungful of air rushing from her chest as she collapses, her pulse pounding in her ears, utterly stated, below Nicole.

 

Nicole draws her hand away, prompting one last jolt from her, a lingering aftershock, before she lowers herself to Waverly’s side. She’s calmly still for a moment, waiting for Waverly to come to, scattering small kisses to Waverly’s bare shoulder and her jawline, when she thinks Waverly can bear the contact, and the small demonstration of adoration makes Waverly’s heart ache with undiluted happiness.

 

Once the buzz of her release fades completely, and she can think and hear as normal again, Waverly pulls Nicole blindly towards her, drawing her properly on top of her again, sliding her arms tightly around Nicole’s shoulders, sighing when Nicole’s weight relaxes against her and they melt into one form.

 

She can feel the double beat of Nicole’s heart over her own, an almost echo, surprised when Nicole’s heart doesn’t begin to slow like hers does, remaining at a steady quick trot.

 

_Nicole wants me_ , Waverly thinks with a jolt. _Perhaps as much as I want her._

 

“You know,” Waverly purrs, gently pushing at Nicole until she rolls off to Waverly’s side, giving her the room to move and reverse their positions, Nicole on her back with Waverly up on her elbow looking down at her. “I’d be lyin’ if I said I hadn’t been thinking about this, more or less every second since I left your bed two nights ago.”

 

“Thinkin’ about what, pray tell?” Nicole asks with a rough voice, her eyes on Waverly’s lips, watching every word leave her mouth.

 

“About you,” Waverly says simply, drawing a line between Nicole’s breasts, down her stomach, stopping just above the line of her underpants. “About how much I liked touchin’ you. About how I’m not sure I’ll ever get enough of it, in fact.”

 

She can feel the tension rolling off of Nicole, her breath thick with it, can see the tremble of her stomach, the tightness of the muscles there, and with a higher sense of confidence, it’s tempting to play a little.

 

It’s tempting to make Nicole work for it, just a bit.

 

But she watches something flash across Nicole’s eyes, a silent plea that Waverly knows her own eyes held a moment ago, before releasing the tension wound around her own muscles.

 

So she _gives_ , instead.

 

Waverly holds Nicole’s eye as her hand doesn’t stop, sinking beneath the waistband to feel Nicole for the first time, and, god, it’s just as incredible as Waverly remembers.

 

Nicole’s breathing stops at the first touch, her ribs strained at their fullest extension as Waverly moves her fingers in a random constellation, mapping out the places where Nicole seems more sensitive tonight, building a picture, ready to fall into a rhythm, when the waistband of Nicole’s underpants hampers her movement.

 

She looks up to Nicole, ready to ask if she can remove the last barrier between them, but Nicole reads her expression easily, lifting her hips a little so Waverly can slide the item in question down and off, dropping it to the ground before turning back to Nicole.

 

“Much better,” Waverly says against Nicole’s lips, pleasantly taken aback when Nicole surges up to meet her, sighing into the kiss when Waverly’s hand moves between her thighs again.

 

She _likes_ this Nicole, this Nicole who’s less hesitant, but still gentle; who isn’t afraid to show Waverly just how much she’s actually feeling; who doesn’t shy away from revealing it in the desperation of her kiss.

 

Waverly’s more than a little proud of how quickly she seems to find a rhythm with her movements now, with how quickly she’s able to work Nicole into a frenzy this time compared to their first. It’s hard to concentrate on her task, though. It’s hard to concentrate on that solely, because Nicole is long muscle and creamy skin, in front of her, the freckles that fall across her chest and the crest of her hip so utterly kissable, Waverly can’t help but lower her lips to them.

 

Nicole jumps at the first touch of Waverly’s mouth to her breast, her hands balled into fists, clutching the blanket, white-knuckled in some attempt to control her hands, until Waverly breathes against her.

 

“I’m feeling awfully envious of that blanket, Miss Haught,” she offers playfully, punctuating Nicole’s name with a nip to the less sensitive flesh of her breasts, and moaning loudly when Nicole’s hands move to draw tight in her hair and lightly scratch against her scalp instead.

 

_Much better_ , Waverly thinks, feeling the change in Nicole’s grip when she moves to favour one area over another, because she thinks she can read Nicole just fine without the contact, but she can’t deny it’s a comfort to have such swift feedback.

 

She presses messy kisses to every inch of Nicole’s skin she can, quickening the pace until Nicole’s hips start chasing the contact, meeting each movement of her hands and she starts shaking with every breath. And then Nicole does something unexpected, she curls her hands around the nape of Waverly’s neck, holding her close after a kiss, and Waverly’s attention centres on her instantly.

 

“Baby, what is it?” Waverly asks, but she’s not concerned, because Nicole isn’t strung out like she’s doing anything wrong, it’s more that she _wants_ something, the question almost clear on her skin.

 

“You don’t have to, but Wave, I want… I want to _feel_ you,” Nicole half-moans against Waverly’s mouth, and Waverly feels her heart stop _,_ because she knows exactly what it is that Nicole’s asking for.

 

“Yes,” Waverly says quickly, cutting herself off to kiss Nicole deeply, her ears ringing when she pulls away. “I do, too.”

 

She’s already moving by the time Nicole’s hand joins her own, leading her lower down the length of her body, and Nicole pauses as Waverly teases her entrance, opening her eyes to catch Waverly’s, almost pitch black with desire.

 

“Go slow to start,” Nicole tells her gently, and Waverly nods, her attention completely fixed on the lines of Nicole’s mouth, how she’s positively trembling in anticipation.

 

“You’ll tell me if I do somethin’-” Waverly starts, before Nicole cuts her off with a kiss.

 

“You won’t,” Nicole says softly, the trust is so inherent in Nicole’s voice that it gives her the confidence she needs to calm her nerves.

 

Because she _wants_ this, she wants this more than she can say, to feel Nicole, to be that _close_ to her, but she wants it to be good, too.  Her lack of experience, and Nicole’s relative wealth of it, is the only thing worrying her, but Nicole’s words soothe her, they give her a reassurance that she can make this as good as Nicole had for her.

 

Nicole’s hips roll up against her hand seeking contact, and the tips of two of her fingers dip into Nicole’s heat, and she stills completely, the small taste of inviting warmth more than enough to prompt her hand into moving. She goes slowly at first, pushing into Nicole with one finger, quickly joined by another when Nicole gasps for it, and the sensation of being enveloped takes her breath away.

 

It’s warmth, but like nothing she’s ever experienced before. A thick heavy, warmth; smothering, overwhelming in its intensity, and she’s so completely distracted by it, she almost forgets to keep moving. Waverly can feel her tensed to begin with, slowly becoming accustomed to the slight intrusion until she relaxes entirely when Waverly finds home, settling as deep as she can go, transfixed by the shudder that leaves Nicole when she does.

 

“Oh, my—“ she begins, but Nicole finishes the thought for her, muttering out a rough and broken _god_ , when Waverly starts to move her fingers again, slowly.

 

Nicole’s hands loosen in her hair after a moment, her whole body letting the tension go _,_ and Waverly takes that to mean she can begin to stroke more freely, the tightness in her own shoulders easing, too. It takes her a moment to find a rhythm this way, but she does, beginning to thrust when Nicole moves her hips to meet the movement, falling almost perfectly into step with her, glowing with the blush that breaks heavily over Nicole’s face and neck, darkening her chest, as well.

 

Nicole is exquisite like this, lost to her pleasure, lost to Waverly’s hands and her mouth, and Waverly wants to burn the image into the palms of her hands, so she doesn’t ever, ever forget what it was to have Nicole come apart like this for the first time. Nicole’s breathing starts to pick up before long, and Waverly does her best to move her thumb over the sensitive bud that has Nicole sighing, and even with an uneven beat to her movements, she senses Nicole start to rise.

 

She can feel Nicole begin to squeeze around her, to pull her fingers deeper with each push in, and it makes the heat pool in the bottom of her stomach again, too, an ache settling in where Nicole’s fingers had been a moment ago. They’re both breathing hard when Waverly takes Nicole’s mouth against her own again, their tongues moving against each other desperately, more and more urgent, until Nicole starts to flutter around her fingers.

 

“I’m…” Nicole begins, pleasure taking over her before she can add another syllable, but Waverly knows what is it she’s trying to say, she _knows_ ; she can feel it.

 

She adjusts her position over Nicole just a fraction, so she can press down a little clumsily with the heel of her hand as she thrusts in, and that one simple movement, that one irregular sweep of friction does it, sending Nicole over the edge.

 

Nicole is beautiful when she comes, this Waverly knows, with a certain hint of satisfaction, too, that this is a part of Nicole that she alone gets to share. The rest of Purgatory will see pieces and moments of Nicole’s time and her life, but no one else, only Waverly will ever get to see this.

 

It’s musical, the way her cheeks darken and her mouth falls open in a breathy plea of _oh, Waverly_.

 

It’s poetic, the strength Waverly can see flex in the muscles of her thighs as her body tries to hold onto the sensation shaking its way through her.

 

It’s symphonic, the way her body tightens around Waverly’s fingers, and her pulse leaps in her neck beneath Waverly’s mouth. And it’s nothing short of wondrous, because _she_ did this, _she_ made Nicole feel like this.

 

It’s power, in one of the purest senses of the word, and Waverly doesn’t think she’s ever felt anything like it before.

 

Nicole’s body lengthens as she chases the last of her pleasure, Waverly can feel her bones crack beneath her hands as her limbs extend to their fullest length, before she comes tumbling down. Her lungs fill a little desperately as Waverly takes her hand back, not missing the way Nicole’s body shivers with the loss, and she settles into Nicole’s side, laying her ear over Nicole’s still racing heart as her arm wraps around Waverly’s shoulder.

 

“Wave, baby, that was…” Nicole begins, before she trails off, seemingly lost for words, and Waverly takes it for the compliment she thinks Nicole means it to be.

 

“Good?” Waverly asks, turning her head and lifting it so she can look Nicole in the eye.

 

“A severe understatement,” Nicole corrects with a playful smirk. “Incredible, Waverly. It was incredible. I mean, I thought you might be a fast learner, but good lord, you’re so much more than that.”

 

She blushes in the face of the Nicole’s words, but she beams, too, because the validation helps to quell a number of her insecurities neatly, and she can lay her head over Nicole’s chest with a lighter mind. They’re quiet for a moment, focused on the feeling of their skin marrying at every point and a lack of haste on the horizon, and Waverly takes Nicole’s hand in her own, marveling at the way their fingers seem to fit perfectly together.

 

“Is it always like this?” Waverly asks, her breath coming out in a nervous rush, not making eye contact, lest her deepening blush worsen. “I mean…”

 

“I know what you mean,” Nicole replies gently, taking Waverly’s hand in her own and raising it to her lips. “And no, it isn’t. It’s always been good, for me with women, but… never this good.”

 

“It feels like… like I’m givin’ a piece of myself to you each time, and gettin’ one in return,” Waverly admits, closing her eyes against the softness of Nicole’s lips over her knuckles. “I didn’t… I wasn’t expectin’ it to feel so much more than just a physical connection. It feels like I’m tethered to you so much stronger for it, and I… I’m not in the least bit worried about it. I couldn’t be happier, in fact.”

 

“I know what you mean,” Nicole answers quietly, and there’s a hint of something like sadness in her voice that makes Waverly focus her attention. “I didn’t think… well, after Shae, I didn’t think I’d ever find someone to feel so deeply about, but here, with you, the way I felt for her, it doesn’t even compare. Not that it was inconsequential by any means, but because I feel so much for you.”

 

It makes Waverly’s heart push against her ribs, such is the size it swells to, because she can’t deny that it isn't worrisome, or that it hasn’t been, standing next to others in Nicole’s past, because it has. And it’s not because she’s worried Nicole would be anything less than completely devoted to her, it’s because she wants to give Nicole everything, she doesn’t want Nicole to miss anything that she might have had before that Waverly can’t offer her.

 

But she’s beginning to understand that she’s already offering Nicole everything she wants, everything she needs, by being nothing more than herself. It’s fitting, really, because everything she could ever want in a partner, everything she could have dreamed or hoped for, Nicole gives her effortlessly, by being herself, too, and there’s a symmetry in that which settles her pulse into a calmer waltz.

 

“I feel the same,” Waverly offers, leaning up to look at Nicole again. “I feel the same, you know that, don’t you? So much so that I think I might burst from it.”

 

Nicole kisses her in reply, and Waverly gives back, her response full of everything running riot in her mind that she wishes she knew how to articulate. She melts into it, they both do.

 

“I missed you,” Waverly breathes to Nicole so quietly she can still hear the rush of Nicole’s pulse against her ear as she nestles into the warmth of Nicole’s neck. “Quite apart from the fear and worry, I truly missed you.”

 

“I missed you, too,” Nicole returns, and Waverly smiles deeply, humming in some perfect, near-silent satisfaction at her lover’s affirmation.

“Isn’t it strange?” Waverly asks, her tone curious, not bothering to move herself from this warm home she has found. “I’ve gone my whole life without you, but now that I know what it is to have you, it hurts, not having you by my side.”

 

“It’s the same for me without you,” Nicole returns, her arms tightening around Waverly’s shoulders, holding Waverly firmer to her. “I felt lost, Waverly. And I think I've been lost my whole life, but I only know the difference now, because I've finally been found.”

 

“Here’s me thinkin’ you found _me_ ,” Waverly teases lightly, kissing Nicole’s jawline.

 

“We found each other, I think,” Nicole smiles in reply, running her fingers up the line of her spine, and Waverly can’t help but shiver beneath it, and the buzz it stirs within her.

 

There’s a simplicity in the truth of her words that lights the hum in Waverly’s chest, starting a blaze in the palm of her hands, and she only has to glance at Nicole’s gaze to know that she’s wanted, as much as she wants.

 

So she gives herself over to the heat building between them again, gives herself to Nicole again, and together, until the sun rises, brightly, luminescently, they _blaze_.

 

-

 

Waverly sweeps her hand across the small of Nicole’s back, watching the rising sun catch the white walls at the end of the room.

 

Her touch is soft to begin with, and then meaningful, as she scratches lightly with her nails and Nicole groans in pleasure beneath her, like some gently stirring goddess.

 

She does it because she can. For the simple novelty of the fact that here, in the quiet of this haven of safety, this oasis they’ve created, she _can_.

 

“Are you sleeping?” Waverly’s voice sounds soft in the dawn, rough around the edges, but smooth as silk for Nicole.

 

“I don’t know,” Nicole asks, turning to face Waverly in bed. “This feels like a dream, so perhaps I am?”

 

Waverly blushes prettily, feeling the warmth of it spread down her neck, the look on Nicole’s face so earnest, she can do nothing but. Nicole’s eyes are the most spectacular colour in the early morning - deep, rich brown - and Waverly finds herself completely lost in them for a moment, sliding her hands beneath her pillow, lifting her head a fraction higher to watch the light catch when Nicole’s eyes shift to follow her.

 

She feels an arm slide around her waist, bare skin on bare skin as Nicole shuffles forward a little, closing the minimal gap between them, and Waverly’s leg moves between Nicole’s without conscious thought, her body seeking contact on behalf of her mind.

 

There’s something extraordinary about waking up to Nicole in her bed, something intimate, something that takes her breath away, because mornings and nights have always been the loneliest times of the day for her.

 

Days are easy, have always been easy; days are a quick flurry of activity, a thousand things to do in what seems like such a small number of daylight hours, but evenings and mornings have never been so.

 

Leaving the Inn after supper or coming home from the homestead, she could never shake the feeling of envy on her skin, at the fact that the other people in her life always had someone to spend those small, quiet moments of the day with.

 

Because Wynonna and Doc shared each other’s company into the small hours, drinking or smoking or talking, never running out of things to gently argue about, regardless of the then platonic nature of their relationship, and Gus and Curtis had the same, and for the longest time, Waverly can remember aching for those things, while simultaneously knowing that she was unlikely to ever find such a companion for herself.

 

Wynonna had asked her once, with a tender curiosity one night past midnight on the porch, if she would consider settling with someone - not like Champ, someone kinder - for the sake of having a companion.

 

For the sake of easing her loneliness.

 

And she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t considered it. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t genuinely imagined what her life could be like with a male companion, someone who she could love, but never fully be in love with, for the sake of having someone by her side. But she couldn’t bear it, in the end.

 

She couldn’t bear sleeping next to someone she couldn’t give her whole heart to, someone she could never be her true self with, let alone depriving some kind young man of the opportunity to have someone love him completely, too. She would take loneliness as the price for being true to herself, or as true as the time would allow.

 

It wouldn’t have been unusual if she hadn’t ever married. Champ had been right, it wasn’t as though she had any great number of suitors. It would have been easy to assume the mantle of spinster, especially with the surname Earp. She’d been prepared for it. She’d been ready to settle into a life with love in small places. Grateful for it, even. She had never, _ever_ expected to be in the position she now finds herself in.

 

“Hi,” Waverly says quietly, and it’s a small, simple thing, but it feels like a beginning, here with Nicole beside her and the world at her fingertips.

 

“Hi,” Nicole returns, reaching for Waverly’s hand beneath her pillow, threading their fingers together in the space between the two of them.

 

“Do we have to face the world so soon?” Waverly asks, and there’s a soft kind of sadness in her voice, because she doesn’t want to disrupt this peace between them, beautiful and golden.

 

“Not for hours, remember?” Nicole offers, softening as she looks over Waverly’s face. “You can sleep some more, baby. We don’t have to rush anywhere.”

 

“What if I don’t want to sleep?” Waverly asks with a devilish smile, and she stretches her body long, taking a deep breath, feeling the dawn swirl in her lungs. “What if I want to do somethin’ else entirely?”

 

Nicole’s eyebrow raises slowly, pleasant bemusement crossing her features as she opens her arms for Waverly to move into them - now, and forever, too. “Well in that case, Waverly Earp, who on earth am I to stop you?”

 

-


	23. twenty three (epilogue).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, at the very end. Saddle up and slip into Nicole's head one last time. 
> 
> Thank you one final time up top to @iamthegaysmurf for her fabulous beta. 
> 
> I'm going to thank a cast of thousands at the end of this chapter but for now, go on and enjoy! I'm really fond of this epilogue, for me it was the perfect way to finish this fic off, so i hope you feel the same way.

**-**

 

**EPILOGUE**

**NICOLE'S POV**

 

-

  


By the time Nicole dismounts from Lady Jane, tipping her hat off of her head and taking the few steps to collapse in a chair on the front porch of the homestead, she isn’t certain how she’s going to move another muscle this evening.

 

She leans back against the chair, the last of the day’s sunlight warming her face and neck, and she savours it, drinking in the soft radiance pouring itself across her skin. The moment of peace lasts a second or so, but Nicole doesn’t mind the soft squeal that interrupts the silence, smiling in anticipation of the sight she knows is about to walk out the front door to meet her.

 

“Well, what do we have here?” Nicole asks with a smile, smothering a laugh at the sight of Doc, carrying little Alice upside down over his shoulder.

 

The little girl, with dark hair in a striking resemblance of her father, is clutching a cup of something that looks like Waverly’s lemonade, with a look of immense concentration as she tries to keep the cup up the right way in her hands while she’s upside down.

 

“Evenin’, Miss Haught,” Doc says with a wink by way of a greeting, touching her shoulder gently in welcome before turning a now giggling Alice so she can hold her hands out for Nicole. “I believe we have a little somethin’ here for you?”

 

“Why, thank you, Miss Alice,” Nicole beams at the little girl, leaning forward to take the cup, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek at the same time that has the little girl giggling all over again.

 

Doc gathers her in his arms the right way up then, and even after three years, the sight of them together makes Nicole’s heart push against her ribs.

 

_Home_ , she thinks with a faint glow. _This is home._

 

“Mama’s with Aunt Waverly,” Alice says by way of explanation, curling her little arms around her father’s neck. “They should be back soon, right Papa?”

 

“Exactly so, darlin’,” Doc replies, placing his face close to his daughter’s, smiling as she squeals when the rough whiskers of his moustache tickle her cheeks. “In fact, I think they’re almost here.”

 

Doc looks out beyond the archway that heralds the start of Earp land, on the border of their property, to two clouds of dust, figures atop horses just visible through them.

 

_Waverly,_ Nicole thinks with a heavy thump of her heart.

 

It’s been more than three years since the events that almost cost them everything, since Waverly had been brave enough to say yes to a future with her, but it may as well have been yesterday for the way her heart begins to swoop in sight of the woman she loves.

 

Alice starts waving madly the second Wynonna and Waverly’s faces come into view, and Nicole smiles when she sees Wynonna return the gesture to her daughter before they pass under the archway, the now massive Oakley running ahead of the pack.

 

“Look at you lot,” Wynonna says when she reaches them, sliding off her horse and walking straight for Doc and Alice, winking to Nicole as she rises from her chair, before kissing Doc and then her little girl, too. “Out here lazin’ around while your aunt and I do all the hard work.”

 

“We’ve been at the Inn, after this one came to collect me from the shop,” Waverly interjects, rolling her eyes as Oakley makes her way to Nicole, sitting at her feet obediently, waiting for Nicole to welcome her home. “Hardly difficult labor. Unless you count eatin’ a loaf of sweet bread _work_.”

 

“Hey,” Wynonna replies with a scowl on her face. “I swore you to secrecy, traitor.”

 

“My allegiance lies elsewhere now, remember,” Waverly says with an easy smoothness, sliding off her own horse with a transfixing grace, making straight for Nicole’s arms.

 

Wynonna and Alice both make a noise of derision, and Nicole can’t help but smile against Waverly’s lips before they kiss, at the symmetry in mother and daughter.

 

“Hi,” Waverly whispers just before their lips touch, smiling against Nicole’s lips, too.

 

“Hi, back,” Nicole says, moving into the two handed-grip Waverly has on her vest, closing her eyes when Waverly hugs her forward into a kiss.

 

“Aunt Nicole’s had enough,” Alice interjects in a perfect imitation of her mother’s voice - or as close as a three-year-old can get, anyway. “My turn.”

 

“Oh, _your_ turn?” Nicole says, turning to Alice with dramatically wide eyes, reaching to pull the little girl between the two of them so they can smother her with kisses until she starts squirming in their arms, and Nicole lowers her to the ground.

 

“Has Aunt Nicole had enough?” Waverly asks with a curious eye, her gaze moving from Alice, now climbing up her parents’ legs until Doc reaches down to pick her up.

 

“Aunt Nicole definitely hasn’t had enough,” Nicole replies with dark eyes, shaking her head and drawing Waverly back into her arms.

 

“Oh, don’t mind us,” Wynonna says with an eye-roll, lifting her hand to push her hair out of her eyes. “Would the two of you like an audience, or shall we leave you on my porch?”

 

“I think you’ll find it’s _our_ porch,” Waverly throws back at her, rolling her eyes as she looks over Nicole’s shoulder.

 

“Watch that mouth’a yours, baby girl. Doc and I are the kind, godly, married couple who took in you two spinsters, so unlucky in findin’ a man-” Wynonna teases them both, throwing Alice over her shoulder with a squeal of delight “-so that you didn’t have to spend your lives alone, or scurrying between the Inn and your shop in the horrid hours of the mornin’.”

 

“Oh, and it’s so terrible havin’ a full house, isn’t it?” Waverly throws back to her, and Nicole watches Wynonna’s eyes soften at the mention of it.

 

Because they know, they all know how much it means, to _all_ of them, that they’ve been able to find a home here, together. It’s _indescribable_. It’s nothing short of everything in the world.

 

“Dreadful,” Wynonna says dramatically, laying her head on Alice’s side where she rests, still hanging over her shoulder. “Just plain horrible. You help cook meals, you stop us keelin’ over when one of us gets sick. And not to mention all the awful work Miss Deputy here helps us with around the homestead.”

 

The last of the day’s sun glints off the wedding ring on Wynonna’s finger, and the matching band on Doc’s when she takes his hand to press a quick kiss to it, and Nicole can’t help but smile at the sight of it.

 

“Plain ungrateful, your mother is, young lady,” Waverly says to her niece when Wynonna spins so Alice can see Nicole and Waverly, her little hands on her mother’s back, pushing herself up to look at them.

 

“Don’t listen to her,” Wynonna whispers loudly in her daughter’s ear when Alice turns in Wynonna’s arms to look at them the right way around. “Your aunt’s just jealous that I had the last piece of her cake this afternoon.”

 

Nicole looks down to Waverly, half expecting her to retort with something witty, but there’s no trace of a frown on her face. Instead, she watches her sister and niece with the same soft look Nicole knows is plain on her own face. Because it’s something truly extraordinary, the sight of Wynonna and Doc and Alice, standing in front of them happy and healthy and whole. It’s something Nicole doesn’t think Waverly ever expected to see, and it’s a picture of such easy joy that it seems a furious waste not to take the sight in as deeply as they can, every time it presents itself.

 

Nicole looks from Waverly’s face to Wynonna’s, and she catches the way Wynonna seems to have a similarly and uncommonly blissful expression on her own face, at Waverly folded so neatly into her side, with Nicole’s arm across her shoulders and Waverly’s arms around her waist. At her sister so _happy_.

 

Wynonna winks to her, and Waverly turns her head to look up at Nicole, trying to glean whatever must have passed between her and Wynonna, deciding a quick kiss to Nicole’s lips and the lazily happy gaze Nicole returns to her is information enough.

 

“Gus and Curtis invited us all in for supper tonight,” Wynonna announces to Doc, handing Alice to her father before dropping her own hat onto Alice’s head, smiling as it covers the little girl's eyes, but not her beaming smile at the privilege of being given her mother’s prized possession to wear. “If you don’t mind the ride back into town.”

 

“I think it would be a fine pleasure indeed to join them,” Doc says gently in reply, looking to Alice next. “What say you, young lady? Would you like to see your grandparents?”

 

And they’re not, not biologically, but they’re Alice’s _kin_. Her family. They are in every other sense of the word, and had both dissolved quickly into tears when a heavily pregnant Wynonna had asked them if they would be. And they’ve been nothing short of it to Alice, for the entirety of her young life.

 

Alice nods excitedly, the hat bobbing comically on her head before she looks to Nicole and Waverly, a question tumbling out clumsily for them. “You come, too?”

 

“Well, I’m not certain what Aunt Nicole wants to do, but I had wondered if we might give them a night full of your attention, and we’ll just stay here instead,” Waverly replies to her niece, turning to Nicole with a question on her brow.

 

Nicole catches Wynonna snort with a distinct lack of subtly, obviously spotting the reasonably transparent motive of Waverly’s - having the house to themselves for the evening - before she looks to Waverly with a smile on her lips.

 

“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea,” Nicole replies smoothly, leaning down to press a quick kiss to Waverly’s cheek, ignoring the _bleh_ sound that Wynonna and Alice make in the background.

 

“I bet it does - ” Wynonna says before Doc cuts her off neatly, talking over the top of whatever Wynonna’s next words were to be.

 

“When are they expectin’ us?” Doc continues, expertly ignoring the death stare that Wynonna tries to land, looking to Waverly instead.

 

“Whenever you could turn tail and head back into town,” Waverly replies, trying obviously not to laugh at the mortally wounded look on Wynonna’s face. “But there wasn’t any rush, either.”

 

“What do you think, little miss?” Doc asks with a smile, turning to his daughter with a look of pure adoration in his eyes, like he can scarcely believe he’s in the position he’s in. “Shall we drag your mama along now, save her from teasin’ Aunt Waverly and Aunt Nicole anymore?”

 

“Mmhmm,” Alice replies, gently laying her head against Doc’s chest, squashing Wynonna’s hat a little, not that either of them seem to mind.

 

“Need anythin’ from inside?” Wynonna asks Doc and Alice, before disappearing into the house for a moment, returning with a few things for Alice, and a coat for herself.

 

Doc clicks his tongue, motioning for Wynonna’s horse to come to them, packing the items Wynonna hands him while Wynonna bends down to the flower beds around the front of the house, picking a small posey, before handing it to Alice to hold.

 

“You want to give that to Grandma, little miss?” Wynonna asks Alice with a wink, smiling when the little girl nods furiously in Doc’s arms, accepting the flower with grasping hands.

 

“Don’t do anythin’ I wouldn’t,” Wynonna says, throwing a far more salacious wink to Waverly, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek on the way past, walking to Doc and her horse.

 

“So that leaves what, exactly? Nothin’?” Waverly returns with enviously quick wit, settling back into Nicole’s arms, and Nicole can’t help but hum in contentment, because she’ll never not notice how _neatly_ Waverly fits in the curve of her side.

 

Wynonna closes the gap to Doc, standing next to the horse, ready to hand Alice to her when she mounts. She swings up into the saddle, holding her arms out for her daughter, Alice climbing up and in front of Wynonna with a practised grace, before Doc calls his own horse over.

 

Nicole hadn’t been surprised at the ease with which Wynonna and Doc had settled into this current form of their relationship after the events that had almost taken Waverly’s life.

 

They had come down the stairs a little sheepishly after Nicole and Waverly had made their way over to the Inn discreetly the morning after their reunion, holding hands and walking into the kitchen at the exact moment Waverly and Nicole had walked through the door, everyone dissolving into laughter at Waverly’s half-strangled _finally_ , before settling down to breakfast, every bit a pair as Nicole and Waverly, maybe even more so, given the years they’d spent at each other’s side before now.

 

Gus had put on a small feast for them in some kind of gentle celebration - and relief, Nicole had thought, at the two of them finally finding the happiness Nicole knew they both deserved - before they’d shared the first meal that would mark the rest of their lives, with Waverly’s hand on her thigh beneath the table, and her heart high and proud in her chest.

 

They had been married shortly after, in a small ceremony here on the homestead, and Nicole had held Waverly’s hand as she’d cried in the purest joy the whole way through, until Wynonna could sweep her into her arms at the end, as Doc’s wife.

 

Nicole had moved out to the homestead some small time after, on the proviso that she couldn’t stay at the Inn forever, not even though Gus had kindly offered her a room there as long as she liked. It was an offer of reprieve from everything else, should she ever need it, the newly married couple gladly welcoming Nicole to make the homestead her home, too.

 

It had been easy then, to spend evenings together, because people had been used to seeing Waverly ride into town with her sister early in the mornings, had seen her do so for all the time she’d owned the shop, no one even took note of the fact that those mornings became more and more regular, until Waverly was spending the majority of her time out on the homestead. They spent the odd evening in town, staying above the shop when they wanted some small amount of privacy, but it was safer, and easier - so much easier for the both of them - to stay on the homestead, rather than having to sneak around like thieves between the Inn and the shop in the early hours of the morning.

 

Alice was born in the spring after Doc and Wynonna had married, filling a hole in all their lives that they hadn’t even known was there, and Nicole and Waverly had watched on as Wynonna and Doc had taken to parenthood flawlessly. They’d watched Alice grow into a small bundle of effortless energy, so closely resembling both of her parents in looks and personality, filling Gus and Curtis’s, and Chrissy and Nedley’s lives, as well as their own.

 

Alice gives her an enthusiastic wave off the back of Wynonna’s horse, bringing Nicole back into the present, and she blows Alice a kiss that the little girl catches in her hand before pressing her fist to her chest, and Nicole feels Waverly sigh into her side at the sight.

 

“Don’t wait up, lovebirds,” Wynonna throws over her shoulder, before looking down to Oakley, the dog now by her horse’s feet as if signalling her own goodbye to the other animal, sniffing each other in farewell. “Mind they don’t burn the damn house down, won’t you, Oakley?”

 

The dog looks up at Wynonna at the sound of her name, giving a small _yip_ in farewell, before Wynonna makes her way towards the archway.

 

“I wish you a very fine evenin’ ladies,” Doc says to them before swinging up onto his own horse, a soft and slightly bemused look on his face.

 

“You, too,” Waverly returns with a farewell wave of her own, her voice reverberating through Nicole’s chest as they hold one another tightly.

 

Nicole turns them both slightly to watch Doc nudge his horse into a pace to catch up with Wynonna as they make their way onto the road, Doc tipping his hat in farewell before they’re lost in a haze of sunset and dust, and Nicole can turn to face her love, fully.

 

“Why, Miss Earp, I declare that might have been some of your finest thinkin’ yet,” Nicole says, her voice low and mildly seductive as she wraps her arms around Waverly’s waist, tugging Waverly towards her.

 

It has the intended effect, bringing Waverly’s hips crashing into her own with the widest smirk on her face, making Nicole’s heart pick up to a gallop.

 

“I’m terribly glad you think so, Deputy,” Waverly returns, burying her hands into the hair at the nape of Nicole’s neck, bringing Nicole’s mouth down against her own.

 

There’s no harm in them being so out in the open with their affection here, the Earp homestead the only property in the area, and the growing dark helping to shroud them, too. They have to be _so_ careful with their affection and their familiarity with one another when they’re in town, when they’re with anyone other than family, but here, on their land, in their home, they’re free to be themselves, to share and give affection as easily as they please.

 

“Very fine, indeed,” Nicole murmurs against her lips, sighing in pleasure when Waverly’s nails drag along her scalp.

 

“What would you like to do for the evenin’ then, my love?” Waverly breathes into a smile against Nicole’s cheek.

 

“Oh, I don’t know…” Nicole says a little teasingly, moving back to hold Waverly at an arm's length for dramatic effect. “Perhaps we should do a round of chores, what do you think? I mean, it’s only responsible to do somethin’ of the like, to stop those sinfully good thoughts about what I’d rather be doing from making their way into my head.”

 

“ _Or_ ,” Waverly replies with a breathless whisper, pulling Nicole towards her, balling her hands into fists in the front of Nicole’s vest - a strategy, Nicole thinks, to keep her from moving away - before speaking again. “Or, you could tell me all about those sinful thoughts.”

 

“Tell you?” Nicole replies with mock offence, shaking her head as if shocked by Waverly’s insinuation. “My, my, Waverly Earp, I would never have expected someone so pure as you to suggest such a thing.”

 

“Hmmm, must be the bad influence I’ve had around me these past few years,” Waverly growls, her eyes darkening to echo the sky above them. “Or, you could show them to me, instead.”

 

“Show you,” Nicole says with a hungry desperation in her voice now, sliding her hands down Waverly’s back, over the soft fabric of her dress. “I opt for show you.”

 

“Why, Nicole Haught,” Waverly breathes heavily, moving back into Nicole’s touch when her hands move down to cover her backside. “I thought you’d _never_ ask.”

 

“I don’t know that I did,” Nicole says, sliding one last teasing note between them, before watching Waverly’s smile pick up at the corners, bending down to pick Waverly up, breathing quicker when Waverly’s legs wrap around her waist.

 

“You’re a terrible tease, you know,” Waverly says in a way that’s not a question at all, and she squeezes her thighs around Nicole’s waist to accentuate her point.

 

“Only because you’re so beautiful when I do,” Nicole replies, leaning in and leaving Waverly with a kiss that makes her lick her lips in its wake. “So it’s your own fault, really.”

 

“Oh, it’s _my_ fault,” Waverly says with a teasing exaggeration as Nicole walks the two of them inside, through the door, holding Waverly tight, her hands under Waverly’s behind. “Silly me. I suppose I should be careful then, huh? I’d best make sure I wasn’t teasin’ you in kind.”

 

Nicole knows this timbre in Waverly’s voice, she knows this playful growl between her words, and it makes her shiver from her head to her toes, because _this_ Waverly... she’s like dynamite. She’s combustible in the loveliest way, fit to explode, except Nicole can read the signs so well by now before the fire starts, she could almost track each of Waverly’s movements.

 

Only, Waverly keeps surprising her - has never stopped surprising her, in fact - since she first took Nicole to her bed years ago.

 

_That_ Waverly took the leap of faith and unlocked Nicole’s door that first night together, unlocked more than the iron bolt, too. She unlocked something profound between them that Nicole hasn’t felt the likeness of before, and knows she won’t again. It’s one of a kind, rare, one grain of sand in a hundred thousand, this thing between them. Beautiful. Waverly is, too. And, Nicole thinks, she only grows more and more so as time passes around them.

 

And sometimes, sometimes Waverly will do some small thing, will turn her head or touch Nicole’s cheek or _something_ that will remind Nicole of their first time together - because even after all this time, Nicole can still remember almost every inch of it - and it floors her every single time.

 

Waverly had been cautious that first night, had been careful with her touches and careful with her requests. She had been new. Inquisitive. A brilliantly fast learner, but hesitant around the edges, hyper-aware of each of Nicole’s reactions as an indicator of her own ability. She isn’t like that any longer - hesitant - because she knows Nicole’s body better than she knows her own. She knows Nicole’s pleasure, and how to find it, better than she does herself.

 

_This_ Waverly is confident. She’s playful. She’s cocky sometimes, too, when she wants to be, to draw Nicole into a certain kind of mood, and Nicole can never get enough of her when that iteration raises its head, because she knows it’s only for her, that no one else in the world has seen this side of her nature, teasing and exceptionally quick witted.

 

_That_ Waverly, Nicole thinks, is the one in her arms right now, scratching her nails down Nicole’s back, deliciously so, her muscles tensing in anticipation of the next touch. _That_ Waverly will take Nicole to her bed tonight, and Nicole can’t think of a better way to spend their evening alone in the house.

 

Because _that_ Waverly... she isn’t quiet, either. She’s vocal and she tells Nicole what she wants, in a way that is so very different to the Waverly in the beginning.

 

Admittedly it hadn’t taken Waverly long to become more comfortable with verbalising her desire, after Nicole and the others had come for her in the mine. After that night together, Nicole could already see a bolder Waverly behind her glassy-eyed facade coming to the surface then, and it’s only grown in leaps and bounds since, as Waverly has come to terms with who she really is. And what she really wants.

 

There is one thing that has remained extraordinarily stable: that Waverly _wants_ her. Deeply, madly, truly - she _wants_ her. Waverly still wants her, now, after a few years of peace, after their lives have settled, and there’s not a second that goes by where Nicole takes that for granted. There isn’t a second that passes where Nicole takes any of this for granted; not Waverly, not this family that’s taken her in so wholly, not the peace and safety that surrounds them.

 

Because Nicole is lucky - she’s damn lucky - and she knows it.

 

But so do the others. They know how rare such a thing is, too, and they make the most of every day as much as they possibly can.

 

It’s why some nights Nicole doesn’t sleep for hours after Waverly drifts off, struck by some molten need to affirm to herself that this is real, that the slow rise and fall of Waverly’s breath is reality in front of her, and not some long drawn out fantasy instead.

 

Most of their coming together here in the homestead is quiet, breath tight as they try not to laugh and give themselves away when one of them does make a louder than intended noise, desperately trying not to wake anyone else in the house with the sounds of Waverly sliding down her body, or Nicole doing the same to her. But here, tonight, like this, with the homestead empty for the evening, Nicole will savour the taste of Waverly’s skin as it trembles beneath her mouth.

 

Tonight, they can take their time.

 

Waverly’s hands on her neck, smoothing down the long lines of muscle before running over her shoulders, bring Nicole back to herself, and she comes to her mind as they near the large kitchen table.

 

Nicole catches sight of Oakley taking her place as sentry at the front door, and relaxes part of her mind, assured that the dog will let them know the second they’re no longer alone, before turning her attention back to Waverly. She walks them to the table so that Waverly can sit on the edge and Nicole can step between her legs, tilting Waverly’s chin up and losing herself in a frenzied kiss as Waverly’s hands move all over the top half of her body.

 

They track a path down her sides, briefly glancing the curve of her breasts before rising up her rib cage, sweeping her thumbs over the fullness of them on her return, clumsily, but purposefully, brushing their more sensitive centre before crawling up Nicole’s neck again, just in time for Nicole to pull away with a gasp.

 

“Miss Haught, anyone would think it’s been weeks since you had me, and not just a few hours,” Waverly preens, running her thumb over Nicole’s now kiss-swollen bottom lip.

 

“I could say the same about you,” Nicole returns with a smirk, just as Waverly’s hands round the curve of her behind, tugging Nicole towards her.

 

“You make me insatiable,” Waverly breathes against her lips, all pretence running between them like water, pooling on the floor along with Nicole’s self-control. “You make me hungry, still, like I’ve been waitin’ to have you for days. How is it still like this?”

 

“I don’t know, baby,” Nicole replies raggedly, her breath halting when Waverly palms her rear firmly, bringing their hips together with a soft _thud_.

 

Because she doesn’t, because this is like witchcraft or sorcery or something humanly unfathomable, and Nicole doesn’t think it will ever stop.

 

Waverly pulls herself forward using the leverage of Nicole’s body, grinding her hips against Nicole’s as much as she can like this, eliciting a faint moan from herself, and it makes Nicole blush, the sound of her pleasure.

 

“I don’t know,” Nicole repeats, her voice surprisingly rough, even to her own ears. “I don’t know, but I am, too.”

 

Waverly smiles at that, big and beautiful and open, like her heart is for Nicole, and she’s powerless to do anything but stop and smile in return.

 

“I like it when you’re hungry,” Waverly admits, biting her lip, her fingers slipping the buttons of Nicole’s shirt open nimbly, moving quickly down her front.

 

“I know you do,” Nicole says boldly, because she does, because this Waverly isn’t afraid to tell her what she wants.

 

Waverly looks up to her as her hand slips through her now open shirt to press her palm down over Nicole’s heart, her eyes golden, the ring Nicole wears around her neck sitting like a weight between their skin, the last of the sun glancing off Waverly’s own small gold ring, worn on her right hand, lest they draw attention to it.

 

It’s not a marriage. Well, it is to them, and to their family, but Nicole knows it will never be recognised as such, not in their lifetimes, at least, nor in Alice’s, either.

 

But they are married in every other sense, wedded to each other physically, emotionally, spiritually - their rings a symbol of that, perfect and whole and unbreakable - and Nicole hasn’t ever loved an object more because of it.

 

They had been married here, on the homestead, when Alice was too small to spend time out of anyone’s arms, in front of a small delegation, in front of their family, and Nicole’s heart beats quicker with the simple memory of it.

  


-

  
  


She’s heard tales, stories of what it feels like for a young man, waiting at the end of an aisle to marry his soon to be wife, only Nicole thinks now it is nothing but falsehood. Her palms are sweaty and her voice is shaky, but it’s from excitement, it’s from anticipation, not fear of losing her freedom.

 

Because she’s not losing anything, she’s _gaining_ it instead.

 

There are only a handful of people assembled before her, Nedley and Chrissy and Mattie, Doc and Wynonna and tiny Alice in his arms, Gus and Curtis, and Dolls, Nedley's lawyer as their celebrant.

 

Doc had built them an archway that Waverly has spent the last few months nursing a growing vine over, gently urging the winding branches between the fine latticework of wood, so that now, in the middle of spring, they bloom. The sweet fragrance of the flowers fills her lungs as she waits at the end of the aisle, in her finest shirt and vest and tie, with her heart in her throat as she waits for Waverly to round the corner of the homestead and fill her vision.

 

Nicole had offered to walk her down the aisle, had offered that they walked down _together_ , but Waverly had wanted as much tradition in their small would-be ceremony as they could get, gently insisting that she wanted to see Nicole beneath the curve of flowers for the first time.

 

She had asked, too, if Waverly wanted one of the men, or her sister to walk her, but she had insisted against it, and Nicole thinks she knows why, because Nicole would be there alone, and Waverly has done everything to make sure Nicole doesn’t feel for a second that she will ever need anything but her, for the rest of their lives.

 

Nicole’s halfway through a deep breath when Waverly finally turns the corner, a dress of fine cream lace, long sleeves with a longer hem, dragging gently on the grass beneath her feet, bare, Nicole sees with a smile, to ground herself, Nicole thinks.

 

Waverly has a band of flowers on her head as a crown, a small wreath wound around her wrists, and a bouquet in her hands, and Nicole doesn’t think she’s ever seen anything so beautiful in her entire life. She makes it to the row of onlookers, their family, before she begins to cry, smiling and laughing gently through her tears, and it’s all Nicole can do to stay put, to keep her feet planted and not walk towards her.

 

Nicole can see a few of the others crying gently in their small crowd, Doc and Chrissy, and Curtis, too, but her vision doesn’t settle on them for longer than a moment, because the only thing she can keep a focus on is the woman in front of her.

 

Dolls takes the bouquet from Waverly’s hands when she finds her place at the front or the aisle, and Nicole can finally reach forward with aching hands and take Waverly’s into her own, their fingers winding together as easily as she takes her next breath. She shakes through the whole ceremony, her hands trembling in Waverly’s until Doc reaches forward to present them with their rings, something he and Wynonna had taken care of on their behalf, and her heart settles.

 

Waverly slides the ring onto Nicole’s finger, and nothing else in the world matters, not the moon or the sun or the creeping dusk, the only thing that does standing in front of her, her touch superbly delicate as she takes her hands away and leaves a simple gold band in their place.

 

Nicole knows they won’t be able to wear them as obviously as Doc and Wynonna wear theirs, but that doesn’t matter, all that does is what they represent. Her hands are steady as Nicole takes her turn, sliding Waverly’s ring over her knuckle, catching Waverly’s eye when her breath hitches, winking before lifting Waverly’s hand to her lips, watching Waverly release a tight breath when she lowers their joined hands.

 

Dolls pronounces them married, and their audience breaks in celebration, Wynonna whistling and Oakley barking, and it’s perfect, as the sun yawns out over the horizon, one last burst before it drops for the evening, it’s maybe the happiest Nicole has ever felt in her entire life.

 

Until Waverly moves into her arms, kissing her soundly, pressing herself against Nicole’s front, her hands smoothing over the small of her back, the world quieting to the space around the two of them.

 

_No_ , Nicole thinks softly, sighing as the air stills and their loved ones look on. _This_ is the happiest. This, right here with Waverly’s arms around her waist, this is the happiest she has ever been.

 

She surveys their group, watching as the others interact, as they smile and beam at the shining example of love presented in front of them, and Nicole can’t help but catch glances of affection move between them, too. She watches Doc and Wynonna glance at one another, sees Gus and Curtis do the same, and then she catches sight of a look pass between two of their other guests that surprises her.

 

Nicole has often wondered about the relationship between Dolls and Chrissy. They work so closely nowadays as Dolls mentors Chrissy through her burgeoning legal career, often out of the jail next to Nedley and Nicole, and she has watched the both of them change as their bond has strengthened.

 

Dolls is quiet, has always been quiet as long as Nicole has known him, but Chrissy has managed to bring a sparkle out of him that Nicole has never seen anyone else do. They glance at one another like she knows she did towards Waverly in the beginning of their own relationship; they move around each other, with small shy touches here and there that feel familiar to her, too, and she wonders whether it will be long before they develop into something further, something more intimate.

 

She would be happy for them, tremendously so. She’s watched Chrissy glance at herself and Waverly with a wistful look more times than she can count, wishing for something akin to what they have together; has watched a few suitors approach Chrissy, only for Chrissy turn them away because she wants something special, she wants something unique, and Nicole thinks maybe, _maybe_ , she may just have found something like that with Xavier Dolls.

 

Chrissy and Doc move around the small group, handing out glasses with a measure of whiskey for a toast as Waverly rests her head against Nicole’s heart beneath their altar, holding up their joined hands and smiling at the way their rings look in the dusk light, and she could die happy in this moment, without a regret in the world.

 

Because how can life possibly bloom sweeter than this?

 

They drink and dance and talk and _live_ into the small hours of the morning, before they all ride back into town, Doc and Wynonna and Alice, too, leaving her and Waverly, love-drunk and drunk-drunk alone on the homestead for the next few days, as close as they will ever have to paradise, to heaven on earth.

  


-

  


It gives Nicole no small thrill, every time she sees Waverly’s ring on her finger after that day, touching her hand to her chest to feel the other, her own, around her neck and over her heart, over the place Waverly resides in her own body.

 

They had decided it was safer this way, safer for Nicole to wear her ring out of sight, lest someone notice the rings suddenly appear on her and Waverly’s fingers not long after Nicole had made the homestead her home.

 

And it might be giving the populous of this small town more credit than they’re due, the idea that someone might put those small things together, but it’s better to be more reserved, Nicole thinks, having been so close to people finding out before, knowing what it may well cost them if people do, than to risk flouting it in the open, bringing the wrath of conservatism and religion and fear down on them should the worst occur.

 

The summer after their wedding is spent in a haze of post-marital heaven, of soft intimacy when they are alone with their family, and of hesitant proximity and friendship when they are not, and it sets the tone for the next few years. For the rest of their lives, too, unbeknownst to them. Because life with Waverly, and with Alice and Wynonna and Doc, is a bliss that Nicole didn’t know existed outside of storybooks, and she spends the better part of the next few years half expecting to wake and find the whole thing some cruel dream or imitation, but it isn’t, and after a while, she stops worrying and begins to _live_ instead.

 

She spends days riding hard, absorbing knowledge and experience and skill at Nedley’s side, helping to maintain an order in Purgatory that she knows half of the country would envy to the point of ruin, and after the murders that almost tore the town apart, she helps to build a peace that _endures_.

  


-

  


“Baby?” Waverly’s voice brings her back to herself, the memory fading into the air around them as Waverly’s hands on her hips ground her. “Where’d you go?”

 

“Just thinkin’ about you,” Nicole replies simply, taking Waverly’s hand in her own, running her fingers over the band of Waverly’s ring. “About this.”

 

“Finally gettin’ sick of me, huh?” Waverly teases, tightening her legs around Nicole’s middle, bringing them closer again.

 

“Waverly Earp, I will never get sick of you,” Nicole returns with a smile, losing herself in the soft lines of Waverly’s face.

 

“Oh, that’s a shame,” Waverly teases, and Nicole watches as a ripple passes through her. “Here’s me thinkin’ of all the things I could do to keep your attention.”

 

“Well, no one’s stoppin’ you from showing me anyway,” Nicole reasons seriously, trying desperately to hold in a smile as Waverly’s eyes light.

 

“More than just a pretty face, aren’t you, Deputy?” Waverly purrs, sliding her arms around Nicole’s shoulders, teasing her lips against Nicole’s.

 

She watches the emotion flicker over Waverly’s face - affection, love, lust - before something _snaps_ , clean and sharp, and Waverly is on her. Her hands warp around Nicole’s neck as her mouth moves hot over Nicole’s, they slide up into her hair and Nicole groans when her fingers tighten.

 

They could stay here, lose themselves in each other, Nicole could lower Waverly against the table and push her skirts up - they’ll be alone for hours after all - but there’s something about the luxury of their bed that snares Nicole and doesn’t let go.

 

Waverly lets out a little hiccup of surprise against her mouth when Nicole pulls her close, slides her hand under Waverly’s behind and lifts, so that Waverly is in her arms again, before turning towards the stairs.

 

“I want you in our bed,” is all that Nicole says by way of an explanation, and she feels Waverly tremble in anticipation against her as she makes her way up the stairs to the room that is Waverly’s to anyone not family, and _theirs_ to anyone that is.

 

Nicole’s hands are on the bare skin of Waverly’s thighs when she walks them through the bedroom door, her hands having slid beneath Waverly’s dress when she’d collected her off the table, and she can feel the skin warm and welcoming and waiting for her to press kisses down every inch of it.

 

She makes straight for the softness of their bed, bending her knees and leaning to press Waverly against it, her hands moving back to Waverly’s knees before teasing the skin higher. Her touch is feather-light, and Waverly squirms beneath it, wanting more, chasing more, but Nicole holds it just out of reach. She leans back to tease further, pushing herself away completely to stand at the edge of the bed, smiling when Waverly moves for her immediately.

 

Her hands start on the buttons of Nicole’s vest that remain done up, releasing them easily, pushing the piece of clothing off before moving to her shirt. They stop for a moment to hold Nicole’s ring with a tender touch before continuing, pushing Nicole’s shirt off her shoulders impatiently and starting on her belt.

 

She’s still wearing everything, her belt and holster, and Waverly takes immense pleasure in removing them, she always has, always bats Nicole’s hands away from them playfully when she arrives home in the evenings. There’s a level of intimacy in the task that feels special, that always makes Nicole stop and watch, transfixed, because it’s in these small moments when the tremendous privilege of having Waverly by her side settles in her heart.

 

Pausing for a beat, Waverly looks up, her eyes black and gentle at the same time, and Nicole knows that Waverly is thinking the same thing as she is. That neither of them ever imagined they’d have someone like this, someone to love like this, someone to celebrate a _marriage_ with like this, and they both soften, acknowledging with the silent manner of communication that they’ve perfected over the last few years before the heaviness of the moment lifts.

 

Waverly tugs on her belt, bringing her hips closer before expertly removing both that and her holster, dropping them to the floor carefully, with gently practised ease. There’s nothing gentle about the look Waverly fixes her with next, though. It’s all fire and heat, and she makes quick work of Nicole’s trousers until Nicole can step out of them and turn her attention back to Waverly.

 

She holds her hand out to Waverly, which she takes smoothly, standing and turning in Nicole’s arms so that Nicole can begin to unlace the stays of her dress. Waverly can do this herself, of course she can, but it’s far more enjoyable, makes their blood run twice as quick, to help one another undress instead.

 

Nicole frees the last lace, pulling the dress apart so Waverly can slip her arms out of the garment before it pools at her waist, and Nicole moves to push it down and over her hips. She reaches for Waverly’s corset next, artfully releasing the bindings before she can drop that to the floor, too, the beauty of Waverly, just Waverly, bare in front of her, finally.

 

Nicole moves her hand over the warm skin, smiling when Waverly trembles a little, looking over her shoulder with eyes that smoulder before allowing Nicole to return to her task.

 

She loves this, testing Waverly’s reactivity, because she’s always been so lovely to build up to a peak, she’s always so wonderfully responsive, even from the beginning - _especially_ from the beginning - that Nicole can’t help but want to touch.

 

Her hand moves slowly, and she watches the goosebumps lift themselves from Waverly’s skin in her wake, smiling when Waverly’s head lolls forward. Nicole pauses in her exhale, counting backwards from five, because she knows that from here, that’s exactly how long it takes for Waverly to break.

 

_Four_.

 

Waverly inhales deeply.

 

_Three_.

 

The breath leaves her in a rush.

 

_Two_.

 

The muscles in her shoulders tense.

 

_One_.

 

She turns.

 

The sight of Waverly naked still takes Nicole’s coherency from her, and she’s still for a beat, the only sound Waverly’s halted breathing as she raises her hand to trace the line of Waverly’s collar bone.

 

And Waverly waits. Waverly waits for the moment to pass before she slides the strap of Nicole’s undergarment from her shoulders, before her hands move to the hem of it.

 

Nicole lifts her arms obligingly, smirking at the look written clearly on Waverly’s face when the piece of clothing falls to the floor along with everything else.

 

Hunger. Waverly is hungry. For her.

 

Waverly’s hands find her blindly them, tugging Nicole close to her by any means necessary, gasping when they touch skin to skin for the first time. Nicole groans when she can feel how pebbled the sensitive skin of Waverly’s breasts are against her own, how heavy Waverly’s desire is, how much she needs this.

 

Insatiable _._ The word is fitting for them, Nicole thinks absently as she leans forward and Waverly leans back, finding the softness of the bed, as Nicole moves between her thighs, because she can never, ever get enough. Waverly’s body is like ambrosia, and her heart, too, and Nicole craves both the second Waverly leaves her sight.

 

She takes Waverly’s mouth against her own, almost growling with some kind of satisfaction when Waverly responds deeply, pushing back, her tongue moving against Nicole’s and her arms running up Nicole’s sides.

 

They’ll have time to go slow later, but she can almost taste the need in Waverly’s kisses now, in the way she holds Nicole against her without room for a breath between them. She doesn’t have the patience to wait, not for the first time anyway.

 

Nicole could hold back, she could drag this out a little, until Waverly is fit to fall apart beneath her hands - it wouldn’t be the first time, and won’t be the last - but there’s something beautiful in her desperation tonight that makes Nicole want to give in without hesitation.

 

Later, Nicole will take her time. Later, Nicole will make her wait. But not now.

 

She drags herself back from Waverly’s kiss, biting her lip as she watches, ribs straining, Waverly’s eyes moving to Nicole’s hands as they take her bloomers and draw them down without a hint of hesitation or teasing.

 

There’s relief in Waverly’s sigh then, she knows Nicole’s intent, Nicole plans to give her what she needs, and she lifts her hips to help before Nicole discards the clothing, bending to press a kiss to the smooth of Waverly’s stomach.

 

“Up here, if you please, Deputy,” Waverly says as Nicole moves lower, blushing at her own instruction before Nicole acquiesces.

 

She settles herself against Waverly’s side, trailing her fingertips and smiling as the muscles of Waverly’s belly leap beneath her touch, drawing a circle around her breast before leaning in to kiss her again.

 

“As you wish, ma’am,” Nicole breathes, feeling the tension in Waverly peak as she flattens her palm and begins to move her hand down towards her goal.

 

Waverly surprises her then, stopping the path of Nicole’s hand with a quiet _wait_ as her hands move to the top of Nicole’s own underpants, and Nicole understands.

 

“Together,” Waverly offers with a heaviness to her voice that Nicole has never been able to deny, closing her eyes as she feels Waverly rid her of the last item of clothing, too.

 

The sensation of Waverly’s skin against her own, bare, drives all thought from her mind, and for a moment all she can do is hold, her eyes finding Waverly’s in a haze…

 

…but then Waverly’s hand moves.

 

From her hip, it slides between them, and Nicole’s hand continues to move, too, and born from their own familiarity, from the knowledge of each other’s bodies, from the language they speak that no one else will ever understand, at the same instant, at exactly the same time, they _touch_.

 

A moan falls between them, only Nicole isn’t certain if it’s from her or from Waverly, but it doesn’t matter, the only thing that does is the feeling, the fire started between her thighs and the heat beneath her fingertips.

 

Waverly’s body bends beneath her, rolling, bucking in her pleasure, and it’s all Nicole can do to remember to reciprocate, struck by the overload of stimulus around her. Because touching Waverly is pleasure, and being touched by Waverly is, too.

 

Nicole tries to find a centre, she tries to search for something to concentrate on in the rush of sensation, finding it in the rhythmic rolling of Waverly’s hips as she searches for contact with Nicole, aligning the movement of her own hand with it, until they fall into sync with one another, Waverly finding a similar pattern to match her own touch with.

 

Waverly’s fingers are adept now, they find the heart of her pleasure easily - _so_ easily. She had been a quick learner, an immensely quick learner in the beginning, had found sources of pleasure in Nicole in the months that followed their coming together that she hadn’t known existed, had teased her desire in ways no one had ever done before. And she does so now, surging up to kiss Nicole hard, like she’s starving, like she hasn’t eaten in days, her teeth taking Nicole’s lip in her own as she thrusts up and slides inside, and Nicole’s body shudders with the intensity of it.

 

They’ve never been short on intensity - never; have always found it in every aspect of their lives together. In love, in waking in the middle of the night and having one another slowly; in lust, in stealing pleasure with hushed voices as Wynonna and Doc talk outside the bedroom door, Nicole’s hand over Waverly’s mouth to take the sound before it reaches them; in the way they have dealt with the world around them.

 

Because that requires an intensity of its own, in not loathing the time they have been born into for harbouring such contemptment for their own happiness; for their love. It requires an intensity in and of itself to keep the resentment from finding a home in their chests when she watches the other young women in the small town slowly pair off, holding hands openly in demonstration of their new love, knowing that they will never be able to do the same.

 

They seek to find solace in the fact that they can only touch in secret, that having a life such as theirs is too much for the world, but that they can handle it, regardless. They can harness the tremendous pleasure to be found, even if no one else can.

 

The intensity drives them to find small mercies instead, to love with the entirety of their beings, to give love - to one another, and to their family, to the small number who know and can see the privilege in their connection. Because this is a privilege, Nicole knows it is, has had enough women in her bed to know that this thing with Waverly, it’s exceptional.

 

As is Waverly herself, Nicole thinks with a gasp as Waverly changes the angle of her fingers, brushing against some deep part inside of her.

 

The heightening peak of her own pleasure drives her attention to Waverly’s harder, too, and she bends down, taking the rise of her breast into her mouth with a strength she knows Waverly will wear the marks of tomorrow.

 

Waverly rises off the bed to meet Nicole’s mouth in response, her back bending in some breathtaking curve, and it almost slows her into inaction, the beauty of it, the way the muscles in her stomach clench with tension, before she comes crashing down.

 

She’s close, Nicole thinks with a smile, tracing kisses along the line of Waverly’s collar bone, scraping her teeth just sharply enough to draw a moan from Waverly’s lips.

 

Her fingers falter against - within _-_ Nicole as her own drive home, pushing Waverly, pushing, pushing, pushing until she walks off, tumbles over the edge.

 

She’ll never not think this is the most powerful thing in the world, feeling Waverly come around her fingers, because it’s _everything_. She’s so expressive, she’s so responsive in these moments, that Nicole feels like a god, knowing each sigh and moan and tightening of smooth velvet is for her.

 

“Baby,” Waverly half-whimpers as Nicole leads her through her release, her fingers stroking Nicole again purposefully as her own body rises and falls. “I want you to…”

 

She doesn’t need to finish the last word. She doesn’t need to utter another syllable, because Nicole is there. She’s there, by Waverly’s side, at life and in her bed, too.

 

The proximity of her own peak takes her by surprise, and she comes, with a gasp, against Waverly’s mouth. She feels Waverly’s orgasm leave her as her own peaks and crests, swimming in it, _reveling_ in it, as Waverly kisses her and draws it out, as long as she can.

 

There’s an immense relief in knowing they have the homestead to themselves, because Nicole’s not certain she could have kept quiet, even if they weren’t, not even entirely sure that she’s still in control of her own body.

 

Waverly spreads her hand in Nicole’s hair at the base of her neck as tightly as her braid will allow as the last shudder makes its way across her limbs, kissing Nicole deeply, the feeling resonating out to the tips of her fingers before it retreats, leaving her gently trembling in its wake.

 

She collapses against half of Waverly’s body, her forehead hot against Waverly’s bare chest, her breath heavy, and through the buzz in her head, she can feel Waverly pulling what’s left of her braid out of her hair, running her fingers through the long strands until they tumble down around her face.

 

“I’m quite certain I know why this is so frowned upon, you know,” Waverly says with a smile in her voice, pushing some of Nicole’s hair behind her ear when she raises her head to look Waverly in the eye.

 

“Why is that?” Nicole asks with a soft huff, a ghost of a laugh as she rolls onto her back, drawing Waverly into her side so Waverly can rest her head on Nicole’s shoulder.

 

“Jealousy,” Waverly offers simply as she settles into Nicole’s arms, and Nicole can’t help but chuckle out loud in reply.

 

“I suspect that you’re right,” Nicole returns, smiling, her chest tightening with the calm blooming between them.

 

They fall into silence for a moment, listening to their slowing breaths fill the otherwise peaceful silence, Waverly tracing a line between freckles on Nicole’s chest, along the chain holding her ring, before her touch changes, from soft to teasing, and Nicole can’t help the way her breath stumbles in reply.

 

“It would be a tremendous waste to only do that the once, don’t you think?” Waverly questions with a fire in her eyes, leaning up on her elbow as her hand begins to move low across Nicole’s stomach. “Empty house and all, given there’s a beautiful woman just lying here next to me.”

 

“That’s some _fine_ thinkin’ there, Miss Earp,” Nicole says, moving smoothly, before Waverly distracts her a second longer and she loses herself to Waverly’s touch.

 

She reverses their position, her pulse racing at the sound of surprise that escapes Waverly’s lungs and the way her hands curl against her back, Waverly’s nails dragging with a sweet bite.

 

“But—“ Waverly begins in argument, her blush creeping with pace down her neck before Nicole’s eyes.

 

“Later,” Nicole answers, kissing her objection away, feeling Waverly melt beneath the kiss, and then the next, pressed to her collarbone, and then the next, pressed _lower_.

 

“Later, Waverly. We have all the time in the world now, after all.”

  


-

**_THE END._ **

-

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, take a deep breath team, here's my academy award thank you speech....
> 
> My first thank you has to be to @iamthegaysmurf - without you, this would have taken me so much longer to get off the ground, and so much longer to finish. Your library of knowledge and ability to help me wrangle an outline I could follow made being able to write this so smooth, because I never had to stop and divert off to do too much of my own research. A massive thank you to you for that and for being such a rock the whole way through the process and for being such a swell friend along the way.
> 
> Second thank you goes to my small little group of fandom friends from right across the board who helped in ways they probably don't even know about, @blurryoz and @cosmotronic for reading parts of this in the early stages even though you're not diehard Earpers, @haughtpocket for being a boundless bundle of energy and enthusiasm, to @therealdarkwiccan for being a sound voice of reason when I doubted a thousand things as I was posting, and listening to me have a boohoo when some of the feedback wasn't very nice, and for having me along on the Earp Fiction Addiction podcast again which was such a blast. 
> 
> Last thank you goes to all of you as readers though. You're amazing and you're the ones who tuned in every week and read this, who stuck along for the slowburn, who took the time to leave me such lovely comments. You guys rock. You've made this journey what it has been for me, and for that I'm immensely grateful.
> 
> To answer a question I'm sure a number of you have - as far as a sequel goes, unfortunately, there isn't one on the horizon. I might pop back and dabble in a oneshot or two, but for me the aim of this story was that it would end in its completeness here at the epilogue. 
> 
> So on that note, ta-ra for now. Thank you all again, this has been some ride and I'm so proud to have produced a story like this within the WE fandom. 
> 
> See ya round the traps! You know where to find me on [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigerlo_)! Go and listen to the podcast I've just done on EFA about this fic - medically proven (not) to stop you going into withdrawls! 
> 
> xx


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